Israel ready for the challenges of the European potato season

Published 2022년 9월 16일

Tridge summary

The European potato market is expected to face uncertainty in the upcoming winter due to lower yields and increased demand for imports, with Israel being a potential supplier. However, the cost of labor, water, energy, and fertilizers in Israel have increased, reducing margins for growers and potentially leading to higher prices for customers. The COVID-19 pandemic has also changed consumer habits, leading to lower supermarket demand and a shift towards delivered food. Despite these challenges, there may be opportunities in meeting demand in countries like Spain and Italy, where storage costs are high and potato quality drops, and in Eastern Europe, where there is a potato shortage due to the war in Ukraine.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The coming European winter will be one of the most uncertain periods for the potato sector, with great uncertainty about what local quantities will be available and how much imports might be needed from a country like Israel. This says Eitan Botzer, director of Atzmona Potatoes Production, a major Israeli supplier of conventional and organic potatoes. "We have just returned from Euro Potato, where we have heard about the bad situation in Europe at the moment. The situation is unclear and very complex. We saw demonstrations of harvesters in potato fields where it is clear that no tubers larger than 60 mm in the ground are in the ground. Maybe Europe will have a lot of potatoes between 40 and 60 mm. Maybe that's not so bad." “On the one hand, the figures from the Western European countries indicate that the acreage has increased by 2% compared to the 5-year average, but on the other hand, it is estimated that the yield will be 9% lower than last year "This means on average about 2 ...

Source: AGF