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Comment: Once again, cooler weather for the time of year has led to increased potato consumption over the last week.
Prices in the peeling market, particularly for Rooster, are holding strong. The old crop appears to be in balance with current demand. Anything that is available to sell finds a market. A recent stock survey shows that stock levels are quite low and are at a similar level to mid-July last year.
Lifting the new crop continues this week. The advantage of an early/timely finish to planting has been diminished by the dry conditions early in the season and colder night conditions.
The market for the new crop is expected to develop from this week on. It is anticipated that heavy volumes will not be around until mid-July.
In France, the market of home-grown earlies is slowly increasing and filling the gap left by the old crop.
Across Europe, prices for the remaining 2018 crop remain firm at the higher end. These prices are sustained by continued export demand.
The EU share of the global market in frozen potato products dropped to 53% in the first quarter of 2019 compared with 59.7% this time last year. This is a result of the poor crop in 2018.
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