Potato growers urged to rethink plans as glut sees price fall 13%

New figures show UK potato production in 2009 increased by 4.2 per cent but – as many growers know to their cost – prices per tonne have fallen by much more, with the Potato Council estimating the drop at about 13 per cent.

With the 2010 planting season under way, East Lothian farmer and Potato Council chairman Allan Stevenson has urged growers to look carefully at accurate market data before making planting decisions. He pointed to his own planting of early potatoes, which will be on sale in early June, as an example of working towards an assured market.

Referring to this year's trade, which has been variously described by the Potato Council in its weekly bulletins as "sticky" and slow, Stevenson said: "The potato market is proving to be to be extremely challenging.

"With the planting season gaining momentum, I feel that growers should carefully re-assess the strength of the market for the crop they are about to plant, to reduce the risk of continuing speculative tonnages overhanging the market in a year's time."

He also urged the main buyers of the UK crop to work closely and supportively with their grower base, on fair contracts, to try to achieve a more balanced market place for the 2010 crop. This, he claimed, would ensure that the whole supply chain could be competitive and profitable.

Dr Rob Clayton, Potato Council interim director, warned that growers should not be diverted by "persistent rumours" that everyone else was cutting back their acreages. He feared these rumours might encourage growers to plant potatoes speculatively again this year, resulting in another year of poor returns for some.

Clayton urged growers to make use of the information readily available from the Potato Council which is funded by the industry.