AHDB Potatoes in the UK announced on Friday that this season’s annual Market Intelligence report is now available online.
Compiled by the AHDB Potato Market Intelligence team, the aim of the GB Potatoes: Market Intelligence annual publication is to provide robust, key information about the GB potato market in order to inform decision-making and provide answers for common questions about the industry.
The report covers a wide ranging array of potato market related topics of relevance in Britain and Europe.
In the introduction to the report, Rob Clayton, Strategy Director at AHDB Potatoes writes that the 2018/19 season will be defined by below-average levels of production. Prolonged drought during key growth stages and challenging planting conditions at the start of the year proved to be impacting factors.
Clayton says potential shortfalls in production are likely to affect the industry differently this season, with distinctive splits starting to emerge between regions and market sectors. The packing sector was able to utilise price-competitive old crop supplies well into September, reducing pressure on new crop supplies and potentially shortening the season by at least three weeks.
Meanwhile, the processing sector switched to new crop supplies on normal timescales. Processing supplies were limited at the start of the season. This resulted in reports coming forward of processors purchasing packing varieties to compensate for a reduction in contracted volumes.
On the continent, the North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) reported a marginal increase in planted area this season. However, yield reductions mean that European production is likely to fall significantly below average this season.
Shortfalls in contracted supplies on the continent could lead to increased competition and strong prices for free-buy supplies, potentially lending some support to the domestic market this year.
Click here to access the full 23 page GB Potatoes: Market Intelligence report as a pdf file
