Late last week, the Potato Council published its annual GB Potatoes Market Intelligence report, wrapping up all key information about the GB potato market in order to inform decision-making and provide answers for common questions about the industry.
Compiled by the AHDB Potato Market Intelligence team, the aim of the report "GB Potatoes: Market Intelligence 2014-2015" is to provide robust, key information about the GB potato market.
The publication provides final figures for the 2013/14 crop year and latest provisional figures for the 2014/15 season (as of December 2014).
Rob Clayton, Director, Potato Council explains in the reports foreword the type of year the United Kingdom was facing: " A high potato stock position, combined with changes in fresh consumption across Europe, put our industry under extreme pressure through 2014/15. Favourable growing conditions resulted in a total production of 5.74Mt, up 3% from the previous year. Following a wet and stormy winter season, the weather of spring 2014 was encouraging for potato planting. This continued with an exceptional summer of record breaking temperatures and - in most areas - adequate rainfall."
Season Overview
The potato industry has experienced unprecedented recent volatility. In the last three years alone, GB production has fallen to its lowest level in twenty-five years, farmgate prices have reached exceptional high and also low levels and consumer demand has seen significant shifts.
UK household purchases of potato products in grams per person per week (Source: GB Potatoes Market Intelligence 2014-2015 / Defra Family Food Survey)
Maincrop lifting progress nationally remained around a week ahead of 2013 progress throughout this season. Beginning in early August, almost two-thirds of the planted area was harvested by the first week in October. Field and weather conditions at the time only giving rise to slight lifting hindrances for some. In summary, the whole planting, growing and harvesting period for the 2014 season has generally been benign, at times even ideal. However, with a large GB crop there was no tightness in supply needed to drive farmgate prices upwards. The strength of yields led to storage space challenges for some growers. Exceptionally warm weather continuing through October added further market pressure, especially for those growers with ambient stores. This added impetus to the movement of some supplies into an already well-supplied market during the autumn.
This inevitably added downward pressure to farmgate prices. Beyond this, stocks in stores have continued to remain in reasonable condition, with odd reports of breakdown and sprouting principally in stocks in remaining ambient stores requiring management beside otherwise typical seasonal deteriorations.
Low farmgate prices have been a dominating feature of the 2014/15 season. Price levels are similar to that experienced in 2009 and 2011, other years where production was strong. A differential between the free-buy and overall price trend which developed during the second half of the 2013/14 season has been maintained throughout this season.
With supplies increasing off the field, there was a gradual and typical decline in farmgate values. After the completion of harvest, the GB average price stabilised, supported by generally stronger contract than free-buy prices. The GB average free-buy price retained some weakness, with strong supplies across Europe adding pressure to GB prices and adequate grower held GB stocks giving further weight.
GB pricing trends this season have been further exacerbated by weakened consumer demand, particularly in the fresh market with both volume and value declines. UK fresh imported volumes so far are much lower than last season, but UK fresh exports are also weaker with little need for UK supplies elsewhere in Europe.
