Bélgica: "Remarkably high potato prices so early in the season"

There is little supply on the market, which makes it more difficult for Eastern and Southern Europe to follow our prices. Then the demand also drops off a bit. If you have to tell your Greek or Tunisian customer, or whoever, every week that there has been an increase of 50 euros per tonne, it simply goes too fast. The market cannot keep up with that."

Jan is actually satisfied with the new harvest of Belgian potatoes. "Everything actually arrived fine. There were some storage problems, but we have that every year," he explains. "Those have now been solved. The yields do differ from region to region and sometimes even from plot to plot. That was mainly due to the time of planting. For some this was the end of March and for others the beginning of June. That certainly had an effect, but at the end of the ride I think we will have more potatoes than last season."

"Also more free potatoes. Look, there are also growers who have harvested 40 tons per hectare and who can only deliver their contracts with that, but there is certainly more for free trade than last year. I am convinced of that. I also hear it in Germany and France, which is why I am still a bit surprised at the current high prices. It is nice for the grower, but I did not expect to be at such a price level so early in the season. Certainly considering the harvest."

How is that possible? "It’s hard to say. The industry is also very quiet. They are not as desperately looking for potatoes as they were last year. Perhaps traders have a shortage and if you have a shortage today, you just have to open your wallet. And perhaps it is also a bit of speculation by people, because they would like to see prices go up a bit. I think we will keep the price level like this in the first weeks/months. Storage is good. The problems have gone, so everyone with good storage is waiting calmly."

"The last two seasons in a row, we had to continue with old harvests for longer due to bad weather in the spring. That also led to prices of 500 to 600 euros per tonne twice in a row, so I think that people who see no need to empty the warehouse will wait and see. I don’t dare to predict how this will develop towards the end of the season. Last year, due to problems with harvesting, we knew that we were going to have a possible shortage and that prices would therefore not go down anymore. However, I don’t dare to say that this season. We will have to wait and see," Jan concludes.

For more information:Jan Van LucheneBruwier PotatoesGalgestraat 1AB-8790 Waregem, BelgiumTel.: +32 56 61 33 33info@bruwier.bewww.bruwier.be