In recent years the weather conditions in the UK have caused pained expressions on the faces of those involved with UK potatoes. But one of the hottest summer spells in many years could bring good news for growers.
Solanum's commercial director Henry Brown is confident that this year will result in success for those involved, although not without a great deal of effort.
Brown says there are several issues that Solanum is watching closely at the moment. “Obviously there is the ongoing situation of stimulating demand in the fresh sector and any possible short-term growth will certainly have been affected by the hot summer Europe has encountered,” he says. “This will also have affected crop yield, which has already been reflected by the industry as the futures market strengthens. For growers this could be a welcome improvement as farm incomes have been under so much pressure.”
The role of the British Potato Council (BPC) is viewed as crucial by many businesses including Solanum. The work of the BPC is vital in raising consumer interest and is busy with campaigns such as “Fab not Fad”, counteracting regimes such as the Atkins diet, which encourages slimmers not to eat, carbohydrates fresh fruit and vegetables. Brown says: “With the involvement of the BPC we all have to work hard to make sure that consumption is encouraged into the Autumn. We recognise the importance of such an organisation and we will continue to work closely with the BPC.”
Optimism is pretty high this season and Brown believes future prospects are promising. “We are extremely pleased with the crop produced by the Solanum growers to date,” he says. “The earlies have been excellent, while the new season main crop has been of a good quality. Orders have been a little quieter than in previous years but the hot summer has been a busy time with new and salad demand.”
Brown is also quick to point out that concern does remain regarding the remainder of the season. He says: “We are mildly concerned whether enough ëbakers' will materialise when we get into the full main crop season due to the hot weather we have been experiencing over the past few months.”
Record temperatures this summer are making this season extremely challenging but Brown remains confident. “Other than some yield and skin finish factors the main difficulty with the intense temperatures has been in getting the field heat out of crops before packing,” he says. “Fortunately at Solanum we are highly experienced in cool-chain management. Our pre-grading chilling facilities have been able to minimise the heat effects to ensure high quality crops are maintained.”
Solanum is constantly trying to improve its business, Brown maintains that organics is an important area of business which has significant growth opportunities. He says: “As a total business strategy it takes a leading role at Solanum.”
The company is constantly keeping abreast of consumer demands by carrying out extensive research and investing in market data. Brown says: “This is done by looking at ways to move down the convenience route while still maintaining it's efficient supply chain and excellent quality of traditional potatoes.”
Solanum launched The Centre of Excellence in October 2002. The centre aims to bring its potato growers and associates together to provide innovations and initiatives within the category. Brown says: “This year, as well as looking at new products, the alliance will be investigating issues with skin finish, damage control, cleanliness of the crop and improving the impact on the environment.”
Solanum is constantly striving to improve its position within the market and each year presents new opportunities, says Brown. “At the moment I think that the crop is an improvement on last season. The effect of the weather will be felt more with the main crop that was planted later in the season.”
There are areas of concern for Brown. “Initial indications here are that we will be faced with reduced yields which usually means less content of the valuable baker fraction,” he says. “Bruising and lifting damage could also be a problem in some crops where the land is very dry.”
Brown states that Solanum agronomists are working closely with its dedicated grower base at present to evaluate the fields so that surprises are kept to minimum going into the storage period. He says: “Commercially we hope growers will receive some welcome improved values for quality crops.”
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