2019

Publication author: Christelle Denis – SARL D.Vegetables Potato market chronicle November 2019 All market chronicles After a drought and unprecedented heat that disrupted harvesting in September, we were waiting for rain to save the day so that we could harvest in non-irrigated regions; but the large quantities of rain that poured down did not facilitate harvesting in the northern regions of France.Balanced production on the market? The announced production seems to be in balance: unwashed sales to export markets made good progress in September; refrigerators are not overflowing, and crop prices are holding steady and do not seem to be falling. We can assume that this market situation will remain comfortable, but if we take a closer look at sales, will the situation continue like this? Sales of unwashed, non-contracted potatoes got off to a flying start in August-September, and have stabilized since October. If sales continue at this pace, there will be no shortage of potatoes, and it is conceivable that prices could fall in the 2nd half of the season. Household consumption If we take a closer look at household consumption of fresh potatoes, every year we lose consumers to ready-to-eat or quicker-to-prepare products; last season’s high in-store prices didn’t help win back new consumers! As usual, the end of the calendar year is no foregone conclusion! Let’s not fall asleep and continue to listen to our markets to meet their demands.

Publication author: Michèle Adoardi pour La Pomme de Terre française Potato market chronicle June 2019 All market chronicles On the consumer market, the lack of merchandise continues to drive up prices. Today, the price of 5kg washed reaches at least €620/T. It is €600 to €630/T for 50+mm washes packed in big bags. As a reminder, last year, market prices were in the region of 130-170€/T in big bags. That’s 3 times more expensive than last year! Faced with an obvious shortage of goods, our customers don’t even try to negotiate. The rise in prices has accelerated since the beginning of April, due to the scarcity of quality and choice of products. SARL Desruelles-Courtage, a potato brokerage firm, trades around 10,000t/year mainly to Italy. Demand for Agata is still very high this year, but stocks are now depleted. Varieties such as Challenger, Orchestra and Colomba have taken over. French quality continues to seduce.

Publication author: Fréderic Laviron – Site internet Roussineau Potato market chronicle January 2019 All market chronicles What if 2019 brought a breath of fresh air? There are so many challenges ahead – technological, regulatory, qualitative – that this second half of the potato marketing year could prove unique. Everyone agrees that we should be able to market the entire French production without difficulty before June.A dynamic start to the year on the market Export figures are good overall, and will undoubtedly remain buoyant towards our neighboring countries, albeit with strong variations in acceptance of high prices, particularly in Italy. The start of the year has been marked by unexpectedly dynamic demand, particularly from Greece. But the problems lie elsewhere: strong industrial demand is disrupting the fresh potato market, and it is sometimes impossible to meet foreign demand for bag-brushed fritable varieties; the foreseeable end of CIPC marketing and use will lead to profound varietal changes, with the choice of producing longer-life varieties, while the use of more expensive alternative preservatives remains marginal today. What about marketing our production after April? Are we ready to reduce our production area to make way for French early produce or imported products from the Mediterranean basin? Will we lose our leadership in fresh potato exports to Europe? What new varieties for what market? The demand for residue analysis by supermarkets is accelerating. Today, there is a real shortage of seed potatoes, of the order of 15 to 20%, for the next season. And yet, as plant breeders take exact stock of what’s available, it doesn’t appear that the area planted will decrease… in fact, it may even increase. Paradoxical, isn’t it? A generous nature? Have we already forgotten that we sold out our 2017 production in September 2018, all over Europe? I like to remind you that, if prices are high this year, this is exclusively linked to a very sharp drop in yields in northern European countries, due to drought. If nature is generous in 2019, another challenge awaits us…