News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from Belgium

The NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) estimates the potato acreage will grow by 3.6% compared to last season.

Under the provocative slogan 'Making the European Potato Trade great again! (it’s gonna be huge, it’s gonna be great, it’s true!)', the Europatat Congress 2017 will focus on two major current issues for the potato sector: plant health and trade.

Jan van Luchene of Bruwier Potatoes, a Belgian company specialized in acquiring and delivering the potatoes you need offers his view of the current potato market in Belgium and Europe.

On the January 1, 2017 the RUCIP European Committee secretariat will be effectively transferred from Paris to Brussels. From the same date a new set of Rules and Practices of the Inter-European Trade in Potatoes (RUCIP) will also start to apply.

The official NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) harvest estimation has been adjusted downward to 24.551.000 tons, which is 3 % lower than last year and 3,6 % than the 5 years average.

As a result of the late potato harvest in the North-western European countries (BE, DE, FR, NL, UK), the potato growers organisation NEPG has decided to postpone publication of its annual yield estimates till the third week of November.

Als gevolg van de late aardappeloogst in alle NEPG landen (BE, DE, FR, NL, UK) is besloten om de bekend making van de officiële NEPG oogstverwachting cijfers uit te stellen naar de derde week november.

Starting from the 2016 – 2017 season, the Belgapom quotation will be made up of three parts, each supplemented by their own market sentiment: Bintje, Challenger and Fontane.

The North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) expect the total potato production (excluding seed and starch potatoes) of this year' s harvest to amount to 24.5 million tonnes. This is 14.1 percent below the potato production last year and 2.9 percent below the 5-year average.

The North-western European potato area is estimated to decrease by 2.5% to 530,000 hectares in the coming season.

Romain Cools, secretary of the Belgian Potato Processors Association Belgapom expresses his views on the free potato market.

The total ware potato harvest in the five North-Western European Potato growers (NEPG) countries - Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Great Britain - in 2014 is estimated at more than 28 million tons.

In the potato market, growers and traders live from day to day. 'It's very unpredictable at the moment', Bart Nemegheer of the Aardappelhoeve laments. 'Demand is good, but prices are far below par.'

Based upon grower surveys in the 5 main potato countries in Northwestern Europe, the NEPG (North-western European Potato Growers) calculates with an area growth for consumption potatoes between 3,5 and 4% more.

Europatat welcomes the European Parliament plenary vote on plant health that results in more responsibilities for operators and a common sense on trade

With its annual exports of approximately 418,000 tons, Flandria is Europe’s biggest vegetable brand. You can get to know the products and sixteen fruit and vegetable suppliers at Fruit Logistica.

According to Romain Cools from Belgapom it is a fact that the consumption of fresh potatoes by Belgian families is falling, but he expects the prices to remain high.

Based on a survey among 123 of its members, the Belgian organisation PCA expects an 8% increase in the potato acreage in Flanders for the main crop, as well as an increase in the acreage of early potatoes of 7.5%. Potato farmers were expressing their p...