Warmer weather this winter is causing issues with potato storage.
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The latest figures from Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board’s (AHDB) potato stocks are 24% down on this time last year at 1.84Mt. Poor harvest in 2018 is being cited as why stocks are back 11% on the five-year average. Stock levels this low have not been seen since 2012.
Sara Maslowski, senior analyst at AHDB said: “Given the poor growing season in 2018, these figures are hardly surprising, particularly given the contrast with previous years’ harvest.”
Alongside the figures on stock levels, data on drawdown (the rate at which stocks are removed from storage) show a high number of potato stocks removed from growers’ stores during December and January, with 1.13Mt released from farms during this period. Excluding last season, this is the highest rate since 2011-2012.
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The high rate of drawdown reflects reports of potatoes being removed from storage early.
Sara said: “The unseasonal weather this winter has meant that some growers struggled with ambient storage due to the higher than usual temperatures. This meant that these stores were cleared earlier than planned.”
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The latest figures from Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board’s (AHDB) potato stocks are 24% down on this time last year at 1.84Mt. Poor harvest in 2018 is being cited as why stocks are back 11% on the five-year average. Stock levels this low have not been seen since 2012.
Sara Maslowski, senior analyst at AHDB said: “Given the poor growing season in 2018, these figures are hardly surprising, particularly given the contrast with previous years’ harvest.”
Alongside the figures on stock levels, data on drawdown (the rate at which stocks are removed from storage) show a high number of potato stocks removed from growers’ stores during December and January, with 1.13Mt released from farms during this period. Excluding last season, this is the highest rate since 2011-2012.
The high rate of drawdown reflects reports of potatoes being removed from storage early.
Sara said: “The unseasonal weather this winter has meant that some growers struggled with ambient storage due to the higher than usual temperatures. This meant that these stores were cleared earlier than planned.”
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