Subsequently to a robust trading month in September 2021, the global frozen potato trade slowed down in October.

According to the “Market Monitoring Frozen Potato Products: Insights October 2021” from A-Insights, the trade volume for October was 5.9% lower than in 2019, but the decline is driven in part by the high trading volume in October 2019.

“Where September was the month with the highest trading volume in 2021, October was the month with the highest trading volume in 2019. The YTD volume remains up 1.9% compared to 2019, but due to the lower trading volume in October, the gap is closing. Prices increased by EUR0.02/kg in October compared to September but remain down 4.7% YTD,” the A-Insights analysts mentioned.

Belgium and the Netherlands Led the Way in Volume Losses

The last year’s volume loss bulk is directly connected to the export of frozen potato products from Belgium (-5.5%), the Netherlands (-10.7%), and the US (-12.2%), hence Canada managed to raise its export volume by 3.3% due to continued, strong demand from the US.

“The export decline for Belgium and the Netherlands is largely related to European trade partners, predominantly the UK. Interestingly, price developments vary widely per exporter: whereas Canada and the Netherlands manage to maintain or increase average price levels, Belgium and France see prices decrease compared to the same period in 2019,” analysts say.

UK’s Frozen Potato Import Volumes Decline

In October 2021, US’s demand remained strong and enhanced by 10.3% compared to the pre-COVID level in October 2019, with prices up 7.9%.

“The market picture in Europe differs strongly, with imports of especially the UK (-25.1%) and the Netherlands (-34.0%) down significantly. Both countries did not have a significantly higher trading volume in earlier months, due to which the YTD volume for the U.K. is comparable to the 2020 volume and the Netherlands YTD volume is lower than in 2020,” the analysts concluded.