Potato market chronicle September 2018

All potato professionals have taken on board the deficit context of the coming harvest. The UNPT has announced the lowest average 2018 yield ever recorded on their samples since 2001.
The market’s two great unknowns

At this stage of the harvest, the two great unknowns are :

The quality and size of harvests of late varieties in irrigated regions, namely Nord Pas-de-Calais and Seine Maritime, but also Belgium and Holland (the big reservoirs of friable potatoes for industrial destinations);
Their storage capacity, which we won’t be able to assess until the end of November. Indeed, what will be the consequences of the regrowth (or re-twinning) phenomenon on product preservation? Irrigated regions (Beauce, Champagne, Picardy), which are much more oriented towards the fresh market, seem to have much smaller deficits.
The potato industry

The problem is the industry. How will it manage this deficit? Will they have to go on strike? Will we have to import? And from where? Given that Europe as a whole seems to be suffering from the same ailment… which even seems to be global.

Against this backdrop, potato prices are genuinely firm. Beware of holding back or excessive speculation, prices are high. Beware of storage problems, which are a real risk at these prices, and above all beware of your customers’ solvency, which can be fatal! In this complicated context, the SNCPT brokers, with their experience and professionalism, are at your disposal.