Potato Market Steady

Supply of new season potatoes has remained steady as all first earlies are mostly sold and many of the larger queen growers in the south and south-east are finishing this week.

Provisional estimates would indicate that over 40% of the early crop is now harvested.

All retail outlets are now stocking queens in large pack sizes and with old season whites now finished the market should stabilise.

There is a reduction of up to 20% in the volumes of Queens on the market compared to last year therefore growers need to remain patient regarding sales.

Harvesting of the first chipping and salad potato crops has now begun in the southern regions of the country. Old season stock is almost finished in the UK which has seen prices for the remained stock stabilise and increase in certain cases. This should have a positive knock on effect for the remained stocks here in Ireland.

Ex-farm potato prices reported to IFA