On October 1st, representatives of the whole potato business gathered in Hamburg for the 71st International Potato Autumn Exchange (Internationale Kartoffel-Herbstbörse), which was hosted by the German Potato Trade Association (Deutschen Kartoffelhandelsverband e.V. – DKHV).

DKHV President, Thomas Herkenrath, warmly welcomed guests of honor, participants, the press present, and the exhibitors. He thanked the 17 exhibiting companies for their great interest and commitment. Afterward, the Potato Queen Paula I (Heidekartoffelkönigin Paula I) and State Councilor (Staatsrat) Andreas Rieckhof from the Department of Economics and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Behörde für Wirtschaft und Innovation der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg) welcomed the 140 participants.

Dr. Christoph Endres, computer scientist, and AI researcher highlighted the increasing importance of cybersecurity in the digitized supply chain and the trading process in his keynote speech ‘Protecting the digital harvest from pests: Cybersecurity in the potato trade’.

He emphasized that the threat of cyber attacks is also increasing sharply in the agricultural and food industry. The lecture offered valuable insights into typical threat scenarios for the potato trade and practical tips for securing sensitive data and systems – which visibly captivated the audience. In particular, the new EU directive on ensuring a high level of network and information security (NIS-2), which requires numerous companies to take preventive security measures from October 18, stimulated intensive discussions. The topic not only dominated the subsequent question and answer session but was also discussed lively throughout the rest of the evening.

The autumn exchange is considered the central barometer of sentiment in the potato industry. The general mood was fundamentally positive due to the forecast large harvest of 12.7m tons of potatoes but there are still many potatoes in the ground and uncertainties such as weather influences, disease pressure, and quality issues could reduce the marketable quantity.

“This year’s conditions for potato cultivation were extremely challenging. In the spring, there was already unusually high rainfall across Germany. In some places, the soil was wet for so long that the last plantings could not be completed until mid-June. Nevertheless, many tubers were successfully planted under optimal conditions. In some regions, areas were badly damaged by flooding and persistent rainfall. The wet weather in the spring, which lasted well into May, led to increased pressure from diseases throughout the country, particularly late blight. We are concerned about the increasingly restrictive political guidelines in plant protection, which are making the control of diseases and pests increasingly difficult. For a long time, a similarly large potato harvest to last year was expected, despite a 9% increase in area. However, the yields determined from representatively selected sample areas for the BMEL’s Special Harvest and Quality Assessment (BEE), with a calculated yield of around 44 tonnes per hectare, assume a record potato harvest of 12.7m tonnes. The BMEL itself points out that this value could still change. This is due, among other things, to the evaluation of only 46% of the almost 700 sample areas so far. Since many other areas have to be cleared in addition to these areas, it is still too early at this point to give a final assessment of the overall situation in terms of the harvest quantity and the available qualities. The regional differences between the yields are also enormous. This gross value therefore says little about the actual harvest expectations for the individual utilization directions. Ultimately, the quality and stability of our stocks are decisive for which quantities will be available for marketing in the coming months,” Herkenrath mentioned.

Now the focus is on the International Berlin Potato Evening on February 4, 2025, in Berlin, which is being eagerly awaited.