Potatoes: 25/09/2018

Ex-farm potato prices reported to the IFA

Comment: With the weather turning slightly after Storm Ali last week, ground frost has begun to have an impact on crops of potatoes, as it has slowed down growth in the past week. Many growers have begun to burn off their main-crop potatoes and are hoping for favourable digging conditions in the next couple of weeks. As we move into the unpredictable back-end of the year, they are hoping for weather conditions to allow them to maximise their yield in what has been a difficult year in the sector.

Prices are holding every week, as more new-season crop enters the market on a daily basis. There are very low levels of old-season Rooster potatoes at retail level currently, with new-season stocks filling up supermarket shelves.

Many growers are reported to be running short of stocks of Queens and are expecting to be fully out of Queens inside the next fortnight. Meanwhile, in the UK, the packing market continues to utilise old-crop material, although this is coming to an end. Burning off and lifting has continued to progress, but is behind previous years, similar to Ireland.

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