UK potatoes in tight supply and selling for more than £500/t

Several years of declining production and a prolonged wet winter have started to bite in the potato sector, with a tight supply situation for potatoes forcing up free-buy prices.

The UK planted area for potatoes has been in decline for the past five years, with the industry estimating a further 10% drop in the past 12 months alone, leaving an estimated crop of about 4.25m tonnes for the current season.

Yields have been in line with typical levels, according to merchants, but months of heavy rainfall have left growers struggling to lift crops.

See also: Potato store project aims to help farmers cut storage costs

There is a similar situation on the Continent with a smaller crop forecast in Europe this year.

Harry Campbell, fruit and vegetable analyst at Mintec, said: “With the limited availability of large potato blocks, sellers are attempting to command higher prices, a move buyers are resisting in anticipation of upcoming imports.

“However, growers with only smaller blocks or quantities available are selling at prevailing market rates, deeming storage for such quantities uneconomical.”

Mr Campbell said the industry is closely watching the plantings that have started in some areas. Any delays would affect harvest dates and result in the already limited supplies available in the UK needing to be stretched, which could push prices to even higher levels.

He added that retail demand remained robust and there had been some talk of shortages of Maris Piper.

Graham Bannister, consultant at GB Potatoes, told Farmers Weekly that supplies of potatoes were fairly tight, with some crops unable to be lifted due to the wet weather and left rotting in the ground.

Mr Bannister added that prices were very good in the short term, but with high costs and a lack of seed, many growers were not committing to any increase in area for the coming year.

Seed prices were reportedly “astronomical” due to the tight supply, which has been exacerbated by restrictions on seed imports.

The wet weather was also leading to protracted plantings, he said.

This view was shared by consultancy firm Andersons, which suggested that current high free-buy potato prices could increase interest in plantings in 2024, but acknowledged that, with potatoes being a specialised crop with high capital costs and low seed availability at present, this uplift may be limited.

The firm also mentioned that weather had not only affected potato liftings, but also increased the risk of disease in store.

Trade

The UK remains a net importer of potatoes, with large volumes coming from the EU, especially in the processing sector.

Defra figures for 2022-23 put total imports at almost 2.5m tonnes and exports at 466,000t. Meanwhile, total UK production last year was estimated at 4.8m tonnes, based on a harvested area of 115,000ha.