The north-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) expects that the output of potatoes for the marketing year 2024-25 (MY) within the region will be higher than that of 22.7 million tonnes that were recorded in the 2023/24. The reason for this is the increase in plant area throughout Europe’s EU-4 (Netherlands, France, Germany as well as Belgium) as well as an increase in year-over-year production of 7percent for the season 2024.

Concerning the market’s changes in terms of market dynamics, regarding market trends, Expana Benchmark Price (EBP) for Dutch processing potatoes has been unchanged month-to-month at EUR150/mt. In the same way to the EBP for Belgian Fontane potatoes has remained stable at EUR125/mt. Market players report a stable state, which has both growers and buyers stuck in a trance while they wait for further information on the outcome of the harvest in 2024.

The 2024 crop season presented numerous challenges to farmers, among them an absence of seed, which led to higher prices and an increased reliance on cutting seed. Unforgiving weather conditions, marked by heavy and persistent rains, extended the planting time over the normal 10-week period and impacted particularly Belgium as well as southern Netherlands although France as well as Germany had less of an impact. The conditions led to poor soil and one of the largest late blights that have occurred that have occurred in recent times. The appearance of novel or emerging blight species required mixing of active components, which increased the expense as well as frequency of treatment, particularly for fields that were planted late.

Source: Mintec Global