Polish potatoes are having a solid season. Harvest started in June and later varieties are currently still being harvested. Due to the weather conditions, being hot and dry, the total harvested volumes of the potatoes will be lower than they were last season.
Łukasz Ostrowicz, member of the board at Polish potato trader Bugaj, states that in terms of pricing, polish potatoes are in a good position in the European market: “The new potatoes season in Poland was relatively good. The harvest started in June and lasted until the end of August. The quality of potatoes was on par, while prices were higher than last year. The prices were still a little lower than elsewhere in Europe, which was a good thing for us.
"As for later potatoes, it seems that a challenging year lies ahead. The harvest for these potatoes has not finished yet. However, we can undoubtedly assess that potato production has been affected by hot and dry conditions during the summer. We observe that yields and sizes of harvested potatoes have been smaller. Irrigation is still not widespread in Poland, which obviously hampers the yields in case of these more extreme conditions.”
For Bugaj, the main markets for their potatoes can be found in the Southwest of Europe, Ostrowicz explains. “We have been receiving the first inquiries from Southeast Europe, which is a traditional export direction for our country. We expect larger quantities of potatoes to be sold to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Italy, among other markets. We’re observing an increase in sales of pre-cooked peeled potatoes to the Baltics, as well. Price levels have been much higher than last year, yet they still don't seem to be satisfactory for the growers, who are dealing with significant production costs increase.”
One thing is for sure, according to Ostrowicz: the Polish potatoes will be available in less volumes than they were last season: “We’re now unable to precisely forecast the potato market in the upcoming months since the harvest is still underway. However, we are certain that the total volume will be lower than in previous years. We are also wondering how the increasing energy prices will affect prices of potato storage and whether this will force some growers to sell their potatoes sooner, so that they are not subject to the higher costs of cooling.”
For more information:
Łukasz Ostrowicz
BUGAJ sp. z o.o.
Tel: +48 698 678 536
Email: lukasz.ostrowicz@fhbugaj.pl