If all potatoes are dug, potato production in north western Europe will drop by 15 per cent to 27.9 million tons this year, the North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) say in a news release on Oct. 22.
The harvest has been later than usual with there still being some potatoes in the ground in wet areas in the United Kingdom and western Belgium.
Next year the NEPG expect growers in the area will plant 15 per cent less potatoes. The pandemic has caused a global drop in demand for processed potato products with the demand for raw material from factories is about 85 per cent compared to last year, the release says.
European and North American potato processors have large stocks of products ready in their cold storage and will need less raw material, the release notes. NEPG expects next year’s contract volumes will be reduced, however contract prices will not.
