The average potato yield in the countries of North-West Europe fell by 6,8% compared with the average for the last 5 years to 43,9 tons / ha.
According to preliminary estimates by the Association of Potato Producers of Northwest Europe (NEPG), the potato crop will be slightly less than 27 million tons.
Harvesting potatoes in the UK will begin later, so the exact data on crop volumes will be published at the end of November. About 70% of the grown potatoes are consumed domestically.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, the harvesting campaign will also begin later than usual. In September, despite the operation of all irrigation systems, the plants did not have enough moisture, and in October, on the contrary, there was too much rain to start collecting. Almost 60% of the area was cleaned last weekend.
This season, special attention is paid to ensuring the storage of potatoes, since many root crops are delivered to warehouses and shops after being in a humid environment, and the risk of damage by mushroom rot is much higher than usual.
At the moment, export of potatoes to Poland and countries in the south and southeast of Europe continues. Potato prices, according to NEPG estimates, will begin to rise in 2-3 weeks, but the final cost depends on the crop and the quality of the laid potatoes for storage. In general, the cost of production in the current season will be higher due to additional costs for irrigation, collection and storage.
Source: FruitNews based on Freshplaza