BRUSSELS: The potato crop in Belgium was not as expected, due to weather conditions during the growing season, but processors opted for along term vision, with a solid contract basis, available storage and scheduled purchases on the market, says RomainCools, Secretary General Belgapom, for PotatoBusiness.com.
The free potato prices have been high during the whole season, which has affected the markets as well on the incoming side (imports) as from the outgoing side (competition), the representative of Belgapom explains. “Whether there will be a shortage at the end of the season will probably depend on the timing of the early crop,” he added.
The weather conditions have affected all types and varieties of potato. The floods in Belgium were regional and lower yields and quality problems happened in many countries. “This can be illustrated by the fact that all varieties share the same price on the free market, which was different during the previous seasons.
Some varieties have shown differences quality wise. So we have seen that of the two major processing varieties for Belgium (Fontane and Bintje) the first one had more quality problems this season, where last year it was the reverse,” Cools mentioned.
