Potatoes: 29/06/2016

Wholesale ex-farm potato prices reported to the IFA

Low High Average

Rooster Box €350 €390 €360

Rooster 10kg €4.00 €4.70 €4.30

Kerr’s Pink 10kg €4.00 €5.00 €4.50

Whites Box €300 €350 €320

Queen 10kg Boxes €10.00 €12.00 €11.00

Comment: All retailers are now stocking early crop, with Queens now gradually replacing the Premier and Homeguard varieties on the shelves. Currently, it is only Queens sown under plastic which are available, while most of the uncovered crop is slow to bulk, with yields very variable due to small tuber size. Due to the recent drop in temperatures, the development of main crop has been hampered, with variable growing conditions being reported, depending on the crop location. It now appears that the damage caused by heavy rain last month in Belgium and Holland has certainly caused significant losses. The continuation of this broken weather across the UK and Europe has dramatically increased disease pressure, with growers struggling to keep blight at bay.