Potato Prices Hardening

With much of the ambient stored product now moved, prices in the market have hardened.

The farm gate price of peeling product has improved by €20 euro per tonne this week as buyers chase limited supplies of Rooster. The wholesale price should now follow suit resulting in a long overdue farm gate price rise over the coming weeks.

The latest stock reports from the main potato producing countries in Europe show stocks down significantly on last year, which will ensure the market stays very positive over the coming months. Despite plantings being sporadic over the past week, sufficient quantities of Queens and other earlies are now planted.

Any major acreage of Queens planted in the next week or so will only undermine this fragile market again for a consecutive season. Plantings across mainland Europe are ahead of schedule with excellent conditions reported, which is a marked contrast to last year.