Potato News from Europe

For financial year 2022/2023, potato breeder Royal HZPC Group B.V. reports substantial growth in sales. Gerard Backx, CEO Royal HZPC Group B.V., underlines that the important growth in volume, is mainly in Asia and America.

The Germany-headquartered company presented a series of innovations at the two-day event of the mechanical and plant machinery companies' network.

Europe has unveiled a EUR 3.2 million (USD 3.4 million) initiative, named “Potatoes Forever!“, aimed at educating the public about sustainable practices within the fresh potato industry. The campaign, set to span three years, will primarily target France and Italy.

Con la llegada de los camiones cargados de tuberculos desde Francia, la cosecha de patata en Castilla y León se ha enllentecido, los precios continuan cayendo de los 35 céntimos el kilo a menos de 30 actualmente, y un año que parecía ser interesante para los productores locales se convierte en una verdadera decepción.

Princesa Amandine ha alcanzado un acuerdo de distribución comercial con la cadena Makro, líder de la distribución mayorista para hostelería en España, que ya está ofreciendo esta patata en sus lineales.

La temporada de cultivo de 2023 trajo desafíos sin precedentes para los productores de semilla de papa en Europa. Condiciones climáticas desfavorables y una reducción en la superficie sembrada han provocado retrasos en la siembra, disminución de los rendimientos y una importante escasez de semilla.

In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has provided a promising assessment of this year's potato harvest despite challenging weather conditions and delayed planting.

In a transformative leap for precision farming, Vultus, spearheads an agricultural revolution with its pioneering Analysis as a Service (AaaS). Their technology is poised to redefine modern farming, empowering farmers to maximize productivity, enhance crop quality, and reduce their environmental impact while boosting their profitability.

The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 121.5 points in September 2023, almost unchanged from its value in August, as declines in the price indices of vegetable oils, dairy and meat had offset increases in the sugar and cereal price indices.

La restricción que afectaba la importación de papas desde el Reino Unido a las Islas Canarias ha llegado a su fin, y según informó Narvay Quintero—consejero de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca de Canarias—los efectos ya se sienten entre los consumidores.

Former Chief Executive of NFU Scotland, Scott Walker, has been appointed as the new part-time CEO for GB Potatoes.

Newtec, represented by their dealer Bialca, will be participating in Fruit Attraction, where they will showcase their advanced solutions designed for the fruit and vegetable industry.

Luonnosta Finland Oy and Phil Rayner announced the establishment of Luonnosta UK Ltd. Luonnosta’s strategy for several years has been to develop international business and strengthen networks worldwide.

During the last weeks, free buy prices from different North-western European quotations have dramatically fallen, no longer allowing to cover production costs. North-western European Potato growers (NEPG) respond.

PLUS's Dutch range of unprocessed potatoes will become completely organic. As of today, the unprocessed potatoes in 1 kilo bags are standard organic. And again without increasing the price.

Here is a sneak peek into one of the many test fields Solynta is currently harvesting. They will be assessing the quality of the tubers, tuber size, dry matter composition, taste, robustness and many other important traits per variety.

Since last week, the level of wholesale prices for potatoes began to decline on the Moldovan market; the product fell in price by an average of 14% to 6 LEI0/kg (USD 0.33/kg).

Crop Insights tool HarvestEye has announced the appointment of Harry Tinson as its new general manager, bringing to the team expertise in global B2B sales from across the engineering and transport sectors.