Across Europe, the potato processing sector continues to come under pressure. As a result of COVID-19, lack of demand from the food service industry has led to a collapse in the market for processing potatoes.

This impact is being felt right across Europe, including the UK. In response to this, the UK Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) recently launched a new portal to help put potato growers and wholesale buyers in touch with each other.

The portal will act as a ‘match-making’ site for growers and merchants to find each other. As with any trade, it has been disrupted by a rapidly changing demand profile.

How will it work for growers?

Growers can view any requests on the portal from merchants and/or post available stocks of potatoes. When posting available stocks, growers will be asked to submit a location, variety and information about how long the potatoes have been in store. Growers then wait for merchants to reply to their request.

Contact from potential buyers will come direct via the contact details on the site.

How will it work for merchants?

Merchants can view available stocks from growers and/or post requests for specific varieties and/or volumes of potatoes. They’ll be asked to submit a location for delivery and to provide details about their needs. They then wait for growers to respond to their requests.