W31: Potato Update

In W31 in the potato landscape, the potato sector in Hungary has faced significant challenges and decline over the last 20 years. The main focus now is ensuring farmers' liquidity, maintaining competitiveness, and modernizing the sector. There has been a notable decrease in the cultivated area, shrinking from 46.7 thousand hectares (ha) in 2000 to 25.3 thousand ha in 2005. This decline has continued, and as of 2022, the sowing area has further decreased to 7.9 thousand ha. The Minister of Agriculture in Hungary has emphasized the importance of addressing these issues to revive and strengthen the potato industry in the country.

On the other hand, Sivas doping in potato production is expected to yield a record high in 2023, ranking first in Turkey's edible and seed potato production, with an expected 445 thousand tons of potato harvest and approximately 75 thousand tons of this will be seed potatoes. Sivas is gaining momentum in agriculture and livestock, with a total area of 90 thousand decares producing 1.8 thousand ha of seed potatoes and 7.2 thousand ha of food potatoes. The area is expected to produce 74 thousand tons of certified potato seeds and 360 thousand tons of edible potatoes.

The Central Statistical Office predicts a slightly smaller potato cultivation area in Poland, with an estimated lower harvest in 2023 and will amount to less than 0.2 million ha. The planting of potatoes for early harvest began in Mar-23, with most plantations for later harvesting in Apr-23. However, meteorological conditions, including cool weather and frosts in April and May, will impact the potato harvest in Poland in 2023. The emergence of potatoes will likely spread over time due to uneven growth and adverse cold weather conditions. As a result, there may be some challenges and variations in the potato crop's yield and timing in Poland for the current year.

In France, potato prices have been steadily increasing due to a disastrous harvest in 2022, which is behind schedule for 2023. The sector sounded the alarm in the summer of 2022, with prices increasing by 17.2% in June over one year. Organic potato prices have risen by almost 23% in test stores, with a 1.5 kg pack of organic potatoes at USD 4.12 (EUR 3.75) on average, the largest increase observed since the survey's start on May-23. Meanwhile, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) reports that the potatoes had the lowest growing days this season in the first trial harvests on 34 practical plots in Belgium. It was because the Fontane potatoes, a late French fries variety, were planted three weeks later than usual, with an average planting date of May 16 compared to the multi-year average of Apr-22. The long-term average yield at this measurement point is 33 metric tons (mt) per ha, but the production measured by PCA for this season ranged from 8 to 29 tons per ha.

In the United States (US), potato retail sales have experienced significant growth from Jul-22 to Jun-23, with an increase of 16.8% compared to the previous year. Overall, sales during the 52-week period reached USD 16.9 billion, the highest recorded in the past five years. Despite a slight decrease in volume sales, they remained 2.5% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Retail prices for all potatoes increased by 19.9% YoY, resulting in an average price of USD 2.36/lbs. However, despite the price increase, potatoes are still considered affordable for consumers. The upward trend continued from Apr-23 to Jun-23, with an 18.3% YoY increase in potato prices. Overall, the potato market in the US has shown robust performance with increasing sales and price growth during this period.