Euro Potato Special: The cost of potato production

The significant changes to cost of potato production for UK producers in the period 2007-2009, has left many potato growers questioning the pricing structure in North West Europe. Also, the ability of producers in France, Belgium and the Netherlands to sustain their current returns.

This review has been carried out to assess some of the available data and attitudes in relation to production in those countries. The choice of France, Belgium and the Netherlands reflects their crucial role in the processing industry and share of total production. The assessment of trends in production costs is complex and has been dealt with by examining figures from costing organisations, which have been corroborated by access to growers benchmarking data.

It is impossible to define a cost of production for any particular region, due to the variation between growers and businesses, but a general overview can be obtained. The cost of production figures referred to herein are indicative of a general picture which would show wide variation.

This special Euro Potato report looks at the key cost of production resources which can be reviewed readily, illustrates some general observations, and draws some conclusions which can be made from the study.