Kartoffeln News, 02/24/2023

In the south of Germany, the first farmers have started planting early potatoes and are therefore beginning cultivation a little earlier than usual. Frosts have been reported for the coming week, which is why early potato planting activities are likely to come to a standstill again quite quickly. Prices for ware potatoes remain unchanged. Requested surcharges cannot be enforced. Surcharges for refrigerated goods in crates are only reported in the southern federal states. Sales to the food retail trade are currently satisfactory, also due to isolated advertising campaigns. With the exception of the carnival strongholds, the packers are happy with the deals. However, the food market is still too balanced for surcharges, especially in northern and western Germany. Demand for French fries has recently continued to lose momentum. The domestic factories in particular are well stocked with goods and are looking for free quantities for later delivery dates in April and May.The Belgian buyers are still active, but have also significantly reduced their demand due to good volume-related business. In Belgium itself, according to reports, the storage quantity is no longer particularly large, but at the same time there is still good export demand for frozen products from the country. Belgapom is leaving the quotes at the level they have reached today. Significantly lower prices are indicated on the futures market . Also today the contracts for April 23 give way again. Buyers are certainly speculating that the pressure on producers to outsource will increase due to the current good supply of the factories, while the sellers expect a tight supply situation at the end of the marketing season.