U.K.’s Defra Reveals a Smaller Potato Production for the 2022-2023 Season
The Food Department (Defra) of the U.K. has announced their potato production figures for 2022-2023, reporting a 6.4% decrease from 2021-2022, with total production at 5.29m tons.
The crop harvested in 2022 is only 153,221 tons greater than the severely impacted crop in 2012, which was ravaged by a particularly rainy season, to put the production reduction in perspective.
The harvested area for 2022, according to Defra, was 115,000 hectares, and industry sources predict that the 2023 harvest area may be much less. This could still result in a decrease in overall production compared to 2022, even with an average yield in 2023.
“While the old UK potato crop is mostly being traded at higher prices due to limited supply, the new season’s crop trade is also starting to pick up. However, demand is outpacing supply as freshly harvested crops are quickly bought up. Despite some new crop entering the market, Maris Piper volumes remain low, which is reflected in the latest price trend. The Mintec Benchmark Prices for Grade 1 Packing Maris Piper EXW England were assessed at GBP470/mt, a year-on-year (y-o-y) increase of 327%,” according to Mintec’s analysts.
The price of Grade 1 White Packing Potatoes EXW England according to Mintec Benchmark Prices is currently GBP400/mt, up 627% year over year. The main causes of these increased prices are a later harvest and lower stock levels than the prior year. The majority of the 2023–2024 potato crop will be harvested and accessible by September, according to market sources, which will result in some price relief.
