Despite reflecting on the effects caused by an oversupply in the market, issues with storage, and the inclusion of potatoes in fewer meal occasions, there are some positives to take for potato growers and suppliers.
Simon Faulkner, agronomy manager at Produce World, says the latest growing season has been the “best in several years”.
Andy Clarkson, retail commercial director at Greenvale, adds: “The 2014 crop is safely tucked away in store, and the focus is now on the 2015 planting. To date, conditions for planting at both the Jersey Royal Company and with Rowe Farming in Cornwall, have been favourable, and are slightly ahead of last year. This bodes well to keep imports to a minimum and start to clear crops earlier in the 2015 season, which should help throughout the year.”
While Faulkner says that his firm has figures showing the total number of households buying potatoes in the year to 4 January 2015 was up on both the preceding years, the Potato Council notes that consumers are cutting the number of potatoes they buy by around 20 per cent each year. However, the body highlights the fact that 90 per cent of those consumers it surveyed weren’t fully aware that they were buying fewer potatoes, thereby suggesting that there is “no active rejection of the potato category”.
Back at the farm gate and trading arenas, meanwhile, it’s another set of figures that are making life tough in the here and now.
Huw Thomas, MD of Wales-focused Puffin Produce, talks of a “low-price season which puts pressure on margins throughout the supply chain”, while Mohammed Essa, Dutch potato supplier Aviko’s general manager for the UK and Ireland, says that oversupply is a problem across western Europe.
He adds: “The warm autumn weather caused problems with storage in some regions; in Belgium, Holland and Germany, high temperatures led to difficulties in drying the product in storage, resulting in rotten potatoes and the development of sprouts.”
As well as the aforementioned drop in consumption, Nick White, head of marketing and corporate affairs at the Potato Council, also attributes the oversupply in the market to high levels of stock being carried over, and sizable crops reaching the market early.
He claims the impact of this has been most acutely felt in the free-buy sector.
His organisation is spending money on marketing campaigns to try to reverse potatoes’ decline. A lucrative tie-up is also in the offing with the Irish Food Board, subject to EU approval.
Innovation could also hold the key to stopping the rot in the potato sector, with Produce World looking to new varieties to bolster its roster. Faulkner says: “We are working with other organisations on exciting research projects looking at innovation in the potato market. Our work with the James Hutton Institute, in Dundee, is intended to give us control of new varieties that we produce from the potato breeding process, with the successful variety being developed alongside our project partner Strathmore Potatoes should we take it to market.
“This will also mean that we can develop specific potato varieties based on consumer demand and preferences, so we can match supply with demand.”
The importance of tying potato consumption to certain events is another area that can’t be overlooked.
Thomas says: “We continue to see the loyalty of Welsh consumers increasing our overall sales year on year as we broaden our supply base and grow our Blas Y Tir brand.
“There was lots of promotional activity over Christmas, but we’re focusing on our St David’s Day (1 March) activity now – with promotions, sampling and displays happening with a number of our key accounts here in Wales.”
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