According to DCA Market Intelligence, the total volume of potato surplus in the European Union is approximately 3.3 million tons. This is reported by Grocery Gazette.
“Not everyone has the ability to store potatoes for so long, and there are no forecasts for an improvement in the market situation yet. Producers are therefore deciding to stop spending on cooling storage costs,” said market specialist Nils van der Boom.
PotatoNL recorded prices at between -0.86 and -0.87 pounds per 100 kg of potatoes destined for livestock feed. Due to a lack of buyers, volumes are being diverted to biodiesel plants and animal feed, with farmers bearing the cost of removal. In Belgium, about 800,000 tons remain in storage, while in France the surplus is estimated at 1 million tons.
Moldova feels it
Last year Moldova also grew a high yield of potatoes. According to expert estimates, only professional potato farms received more than 200 thousand tons of potatoes. For this reason, for most of the current marketing season, the average wholesale price for potatoes has been in the range of 4-5 lei/kg – almost half the price of the previous two seasons.
Nevertheless, this spring, in particular, French potatoes appeared in supermarkets in Moldova – in assortment: in crates, consumer packing, washed and sorted. Prices are not higher than for local products.
