Kartoffeln News, 27/Jun/2025

In the food retail trade (LEH), alternative table potatoes are increasingly being replaced by local early potatoes. Stocks from last year's harvest have almost been used up by producers. In recent days, surplus quantities have mainly been used for alternative purposes - primarily as fodder potatoes or in biogas plants. This means that the warehouses are now free for the start of the early potato season, which will begin on a larger scale throughout Germany in the coming days.

Good to very good quality and yields are expected across the board for the new harvest. In the fields, measures are currently focused on plant protection, in particular on controlling late blight. Warm temperatures and repeated rainfall are significantly increasing the infection pressure.

The domestic harvest is progressing rapidly, further increasing the availability of domestic table potatoes. With the Glorietta variety, another sought-after variety enters the market. The high market supply leads to regional price pressure, as demand cannot keep pace with the increased supply everywhere. These markdowns also affect imported goods, particularly from Italy and Cyprus.

In the ware potato segment, the range of varieties is continuously decreasing; only in Berlin has there recently been a wider supply. In terms of price, however, there were hardly any changes.

It is particularly noteworthy that this year almost all German early potato regions have marketable produce available at the same time. According to REKA, Rhenish early potatoes must therefore compete primarily on the basis of their quality. Meanwhile, price pressure in the industrial potato sector remains unchanged.