Recent updates on the 2023 EU potato crop harvest are marked by uncertainties. This comes after the weather issues faced earlier in the year, which consisted of wet weather during plantings followed by hot and dry weather in May and June, may have affected crop development. Planted areas are also down in many EU countries, including major producers Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. According to market sources, average yields could be below the five-year average, and combined with the low crop acreage, the harvest could be one of the smallest on record.
Despite this, there has been some price relief in the market, with Mintec’s Benchmark Price for processing potatoes exw NL priced at €500/mt on 9th August, down €100/mt since 26th July when the price was at the all-time high on the Mintec Analytics platform. As the delayed new crop begins to enter the market, market sources have said that they expect a further decline in prices in the next few weeks as more potatoes become available.
Although there has been some instant price relief with the new crop, many market players expect prices throughout the 2023/24 MY to be sustained at higher than usual levels as demand remains robust and supplies are expected to be limited throughout the year.