Kartoffeln News, 11/25/2023

Harvesting operations continued in more regions this week. Individual dry phases made progress in processing potatoes possible. In the Rhineland in particular, harvesting work is likely to have progressed well and there are only a few quantities left in the ground. Individual days could also be used effectively in Belgium. Since the harvest was well advanced overall, more machines were available for the remaining fields. However, current estimates suggest that around one to two million potatoes have not yet been recovered in Belgium and the Netherlands and it remains questionable whether all the potatoes will come out of the ground. There are also concerns about the quality of the tubers still to be cleared. Reka's prices remain unchanged this week at the recently increased level. Price quotations in Belgium are also stable. The factories here are largely at capacity with contract goods, although a few free lots were still traded. However, no goods are coming onto the market; farmers are storing what needs to be stored in the expectation that prices will rise as the season progresses. There are hardly any sales of processed potatoes registered in France.The factories here are well supplied and can operate at full capacity, but there are demands for later deliveries. No contracts were traded on EEX on Friday. Overall, the sales volume for the April contract remains manageable. Over the week, the contract has increased and closed yesterday at 32.60 euros/dt. There has still been no trading for the other contracts. Open interest is declining this week. The EEX European Processing Potato Index rose by 3.90 euros/dt this week. On the food market, prices for table potatoes are increasing in Lower Saxony, the Palatinate, Bavaria and Saxony. Storage potatoes are increasingly being purchased. Demand from food retail is described as good; with regional differences, demand from exports continues to increase somewhat, but has not yet reached the expected volume level. National shipping from North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony to other regions of Germany is described as lively.