EEX processing potatoes (Frankfurt, DE)

As a subsidiary of Eurex in Eschborn, EEX offers financially settled futures contracts on dairy products and processing potatoes for clearing in the agricultural sector. There is no possibility of physical settlement on the EEX.

All products are settled financially at maturity (cash settlement). Reference prices that adequately reflect the value of the traded products are used for this purpose. These price indices also increase market transparency in the futures contracts.

Potatoes are an important foodstuff in Germany. Harvest volumes and yields per hectare fluctuate from year to year. On a multi-year average (2017 to 2021), 10.9 million tons were harvested in Germany, resulting in a yield of 41.6 tons per hectare. The vast majority are table potatoes and a small proportion are industrial potatoes. Conventional production predominates. It is estimated that less than two percent of the total harvest is organically grown.

The main focus of cultivation is in Lower Saxony, which accounts for around 45% of the German potato cultivation area. This is followed by Bavaria (15%) and North Rhine-Westphalia (14%). On average, every German eats around 56 kilograms of potatoes per year. In 2000, this figure was still around 70 kilograms, and in 1950 it was as high as 202 kilograms.