Swiss potato harvest washed away

Statistics on the potato cultivation in Switzerland in recent years. Green bars represent the acreage [in hectares, ha], the red line represents the yield [in kg per are kg/a; (divide by 10 to obtain tonnes/ha)] (Courtesy: Swisspatat)

July 18, 2016

Source

Freshplaza / Bauernzeitung

In Switzerland, the weather wasn’t on the side of potato producers. After last year’s bad conditions, this year the harvest has literally washed away. There are already farmers who have written off their crops and ploughed under the potato crop.

“At the end of August the first figures will be available but it is already clear, it won’t be a good harvest,” states Irene Vonlanthen, Managing Director of the Swiss Potato Producers’ Association (Vereinigung Schweizer Kartoffelproduzenten, VSKP).

Domestic potatoes remain important

However there is a glimmer of hope for potato producers. This year’s adjustments of the import regulations as presented by the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (BLW) caused quite a stir in the potato industry. According to the Federal Office for Agriculture the link between the import and the Swiss production was no longer appropriate, and they proposed an auction of 6500 metric tons and the FCFS system for additional quantities potatoes.

The change in the system would have, according potato industry, its far-reaching consequences for the Swiss potato industry. In particular, the notion that external parties would suddenly have access to potato import quota was the largest problem for the potato industry. And they feared that the price of the potatoes for the farmers would come under even more pressure.

Decision hasn’t been made

However, Swisspatat admits in their reply that the present system isn’t entirely without problems either. But the association suggests, that in future the market should decide how much can be imported.

The market share of import by authorized importers should be decided by taking in to account a) the Swiss yield and b) the import volume from the previous period. This suggestion already seems to work for fruit and vegetables according to Swisspatat. That would mean that the domestic production isn’t in excess and the Swiss production would remain successful. The BLW has received the alternative proposal positively. How this mini-reform will take shape hasn’t been decided yet.

The Swiss Federal Council is expected to decide which regulations come into effect in September.