Potato market chronicle November 2019

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.