A recent announcement made at the December 14, 2023 company’s annual central members’ meeting states that Agrico passed the EUR400m mark in sales, with EUR233m paid to the members.

During the meeting, the members discussed the financial statements for 2022-2023 and anticipated the upcoming harvest year. Sales of seed potatoes increased by almost 16%, or EUR34 million, over the prior year. Sales of table potatoes increased by almost +50% or EUR19m. The volume of seed potatoes increased by 4% and the volume of table potatoes increased by 6%, indicating that the increase is mostly the result of higher costs. As expected, the subsidiaries performed admirably. Higher sales at a few of our overseas businesses are responsible for the remaining EUR14m rise in turnover.

At the event, Adrie Vermeulen resigned from his position as Agrico chairman during the meeting. This marked the conclusion of Vermeulen’s 12-year tenure of service as an Agrico board member. He has carried out these responsibilities as the cooperative’s chairman for the past seven years.

The arable farmer from Swifterbant will go down in history as a chairman who allowed each member to voice their opinions. Vermeulen was given a sculpture as a token of the members’ affiliation. He received an additional designation as a Member of Merit in acknowledgment of his enormous contribution to the cooperative.

At the members’ council meeting, Johan Barendregt was named chairman of the Agrico board and supervisory board. Thus, Vermeulen relinquishes his chairmanship to Barendregt. In addition, Johannes van Heerwaarden was reappointed, and Mr. Kees Dekker was named as an external member to take Mr. Ensing’s place. The CFO of Royal Koopmans is Kees Dekker.

“During the central members’ meeting, general director Jan van Hoogen handed over the baton to his successor Mark Zuidhof. On 16 September 2022, Mark Zuidhof was appointed operational director. Since that time, Zuidhof has formed Agrico’s Statutory Board with Van Hoogen. Jan van Hoogen will step down as of 1 January 2024. Jan van Hoogen has been working for Agrico since 1989, of which more than 10 years as CEO. After his resignation, he will remain associated with Agrico as an advisor for a few months. In recognition of his involvement and enormous commitment to the cooperative, Jan van Hoogen has also been appointed Member of Merit,” according to a recent press release.

The wet spring resulted in the potatoes being planted later. Due in part to the late season, Agrico received more complaints. Overall inflation also resulted in significant cost increases, in particular costs specifically related to sales, such as transport and logistics, were substantially higher than last year.

Following the formal part of the meeting, Peter Oldenkamp, director of Agrico Research, talked about Agrico Research’s plans. He spoke specifically about the investment in new construction projects, particularly laboratories. An important aspect of this is the expansion of the molecular laboratory. This investment is required to enable Agrico Research to expand significantly in the development and use of modern breeding techniques, including the use of molecular markers, to grow sustainable varieties and achieve healthy growth in the future.