Potatoes: 02/01/2018

Ex-farm potato prices reported to the IFA

Comment: As expected, demand was strong over the Christmas period, with many reports of an increase in sales on last year. The beginning of January often sees a lull in sales as a result of the Christmas demand. However, orders continue to remain reasonable this week. Official potato yield dig figures show an increase on last year. However, the increase was not as significant as some had predicted. Allied to this, with tare levels and waste much higher than the norm, overall production levels will not be dissimilar to last year. Growers in Northern Ireland have had a very difficult harvesting season, with significant crop losses due to wet conditions and up to 20% of the crop will remain in the ground over the winter period.