While there is still a strong demand in the EU for free-buy potatoes, the supply is becoming more limited. This is because last year’s rainy crop produced quality difficulties that hampered storability, meaning that many producers no longer have enough inventories to sell on the free-buy market.

“Those with supplies are aware of the supply shortage and are waiting for even higher prices. To top up their contracted supplies, buyers must increase their prices to incentivize growers to sell. On 27th February 2024, the Mintec Benchmark Price (MBP) for Dutch processing potatoes reached EUR37.5/100kg, the highest price for February since the price series began in 2014. According to market sources, limited supply is expected to continue to support prices as the market year progresses,” the most recent Mintec report reveals.

The processing sector in The Netherlands is starting to exhibit symptoms of scarcity. The Netherlands’ processing company, VAVI, processed 321,600 tons of potatoes in January 2024—a 10.8% drop from the same month the year before.

“There has been a shortage of processing potatoes due to the challenges in obtaining them from suppliers. Dutch processing is becoming more reliant on supply from neighboring countries; in January 2024, 33.2% of the total supply was imported, compared to 21.4% of imports in January 2023,” the Mintec analysts concluded.