Potato News from Europe

Dutch innovative hybrid potato breeder Solynta announced that Peter Poortinga will join the company as Chief Executive Officer as per September 15.

The last 4 months was not easy going for the potato production in the NEPG region. But despite the difficult weather conditions, first yield estimates suggest a return to multi-year averages, with an estimated harvest of around 23 million tonnes of potatoes.

The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 121.4 points in August 2023, down 2.6 points (2.1 percent) from July, reversing the rebound registered last month and pushing the index as much as 38.3 points (24.0 percent) below its peak reached in March 2022.

Princesa Amandine will participate in Fruit Attraction (from October 3 to 5 at IFEMA Madrid) and can be found at the stands of three of its partners, Udapa (10G06, hall 10), Ibérica de Patatas (5E06, hall 5) and Campotec (8C08, stand Portugal Fresh 2023).

Visitors to Potato Europe, the outdoor exhibition for potato cultivation and machinery (Tournai, Belgium, 6-7 September), were the first to see in action the latest-generation TOMRA 3A sorting machine.

The 2023 edition of Potato Europe took place in Kain (Doornik), Belgium, last week. There, the full-liner in potato cultivation machines unveiled innovations in its product lines for both planting and storage.

Veg of Lund continued its international expansion plans and launched the DUG brand plant-based milk in Germany, Poland, Japan, and Italy.

New E-series reel irrigators from Bauer have several improved features to make operation and maintenance easier while maintaining the product’s outstanding reputation for strength, performance and durability

The Netherlands' development as an agricultural country and retaining enough farmland. And ensuring potatoes remain in Dutch consumers' minds.

Scientists confirmed this week that summer 2023 was the hottest season the world has ever seen by a large margin. Europe is warming almost twice as fast as the global average, at about 2.2C above pre-industrial times.

Toxic datura and nightshade weeds are more often harvested with crops such as green beans and baby leaf spinach, with the risk of getting into the final product. Today, advanced sorting technology is capable to deal with these challenges

In Emmeloord, with more than 60 employees, Eqraft designs, builds and maintains solutions for agricultural companies worldwide.

Crop.zone, a pioneering agtech company, just announced the successful launch of its revolutionary hybrid herbicide technology in Canada.

Since the beginning of the week, potato prices in Ukraine have decreased significantly. The main reason for negative trends in the potato market was the beginning of harvesting in the key production regions and, as a result, an increase in the potato supply.

DOWNS has extended its range of optical potato sorters with the arrival of the I-CropVision®: a modular version of the CropVision®, it incorporates the same technology and numerous benefits.

Agristo is planning to set up a production unit for frozen potato products in France, creating 350 jobs and requiring an investment of €350 million. Today, Tereos has signed an MOU with Agristo, enabling this project on the site of its former sugar factory in Escaudœuvres, in the North of France.

In keeping with the four-yearly tradition, one of the potato sector's most important trade fairs, Potato Europe, will soon again be held in Kain (Doornik), Belgium. Among a range of innovations Dewulf will present at Potato Europe 2023, the main eye catcher will be an entirely new cup planter, named Certa 40 Integral.

Seed potato supplier Europlant Pflanzenzucht GmbH establishes a subsidiary in Spain to expand its market presence in the Mediterranean. Going forward, Europlant Espana Semillas S.L. will be responsible for the distribution of the modern and high-performance potato varieties in Spain.