On October 12, EEX (European Energy Exchange (EEX) AG - Central European Electricity Exchange) began listing April contracts for potatoes from 26,90 euros per 100 kg. A week ago, the price was 27,50 euros. According to stockbroker De Vries & Westermann, after the September rains, the volume of the potato crop in Europe has increased. Potatoes have now been harvested from more than half of European territory, reports portal Nieuweoogst.nl.
However, data from global potato markets show that the European Union is approaching its lowest ever potato harvest. This is the result of a reduction in planting area by almost 2 percent (to 1,45 million ha) and low yields (31,3 tons per ha). It is expected that the total production in the 27 EU countries will reach 45,5 million tons, which is 6,5% lower than last year.
The De Vries & Westermann analysis says that in the coming months, French fry factories will gradually switch from supplying raw materials "from the field" to supplying them from storage. As a result, demand in the daily market stagnates. Despite this development, the current prices for french fries in European countries remain unchanged. For Fontane, the estimated price is about 25 euros, and for Innovator - 26 euros per 100 kg.
At the beginning of this week, PotatoNL increased the quotation of potatoes for processing in category I by 0,50 euros per 100 kg. The quote varies from 20,50 to 26,50 per 100 kg. A higher quotation was mainly established for potatoes suitable for processing into chips for fast food.