UK: Potato markets dominated by contract trade

Potato markets are being dominated by contract trade with slow demand for free-buy supplies, according to Amber Cottingham, analyst at AHDB.Potatoes are currently in a ‘buyers’ market’, with buyers looking to keep prices as low as possible. She said: “They are not terrible, but are lower than they have been for the last couple of seasons when buyers have had to pay a lot more. “Where possible, they are really trying to keep the price as low as they can. It is a buyers’ market.” In England, contract trade continued to dominate the packing market, with minimal free-buy demand reported. Most trade in Scotland is also under contract with free-buy supply remaining limited. More