At the end of 2019, UNPT has warned that the 2020 contracts should take into account the explosion of production costs, the risks and the necessary valuation of the work of potato producers under the provisions of the EGAlim law.

Based on the first contract offers received by the producers at the beginning of the year, and even if a number of contracted volumes are already committed, UNPT claims that the quotas are not met.

According to UNPT, the situation is as follows:

• Producers are facing a strong increase in production costs (end of historical desiccants, higher RPD, development of alternative techniques, ZNT implementation, irrigation costs), and higher risks related to climate change and to the elimination of phytosanitary solutions;
• The conservation of potatoes, after the suppression of CIPC, will take place in a context that is much more uncertain and clearly more costly, reaching up to EUR15/t, without counting the necessary cleaning on the buildings and their upgrading to the standards for most stocks.

“Fair remuneration for potato producers must be the priority of all actors of the sector and will help meet the expectation from clients and from the society for a sustainable agriculture. The fact that some actors did not take into account the massive increase in production costs makes them responsible for the potential delay in ecological transition, to which producers are already fully committed,” concludes UNPT in a press release.

Standard contracts for all producers are available on the UNPT website.