Avebe has started up its potato starch plants for another season

The potato season of cooperative Avebe got under way. The first loads of members’ potatoes have been delivered to its starch production plants in Ter Apelkanaal and Gasselternijveen and both factories are already up and running.

The start of the season is in line with previous years and the season will continue to around the middle of April 2018. During that period, potatoes from approximately 2,400 Dutch and German members are processed into potato starch and potato protein. These basic ingredients will be processed further into high-grade raw materials for the food sector and industrial applications.

The harvest is expected to be in line with other years. The start of the growing season in April, May and June was characterised by a dry and warm period. Although this stunted growth, it was compensated to some extent by plenty of precipitation in June and July.

The first pilot harvests demonstrate that the volume and the starch percentage are in line with a long-term average. However, the final result of the harvest cannot be determined accurately at this stage. The coming months will be decisive, particularly the harvest conditions in September and October.

After the start-up of the factories in Gasselternijveen and Ter Apelkanaal, the season will also start in the German towns Lüchow and Dallmin.

The cooperative has members near those two factories who will be delivering their potatoes for processing.