In Berlin, residents have had the opportunity to obtain potatoes for free in recent weeks. The event was a reaction to the extraordinary harvest, with the whole of Europe reporting an excess of potatoes, sparking a crisis for many farmers selling the crop.
The impetus for the free potatoes distributed in Berlin, known as “potato week,” came just before Christmas, when the head of operations of the search engine Ecosia approached the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost with a proposal that the company would pay for transport and the newspaper would help inform the public. Thousands of tons of surplus crops from nearby farms were distributed. After the announcement, over a thousand places willing to function as dispensaries applied within two days.
The situation in Germany shows how quickly the market can change. The local Ministry of Agriculture recorded a harvest of 13.4 million tons of potatoes, which is roughly 2 million tons more than the long-term average. Many growers expanded their areas for potatoes in anticipation of good purchase prices from previous years. However, favorable weather brought an exceptionally high harvest – the largest in the last 25 years – and the market collapsed. Part of the production thus ended up in biogas stations or as feed.
The giveaway in Berlin has sparked the anger of many farmers in the region, who say the ministry’s efforts have led to their potato crop being even further devalued.
Meanwhile, in Czechia, the president of the Czech Potato Association, Josef Králicek, points out that the potato market not only has to contend with a record harvest, but also a change in the situation on the global market. In previous years, up to 50 percent of European exports of potatoes intended for fries went to Asia. Recently, however, China has significantly reduced its consumption and has itself started supplying Asian markets with potato products.
According to Králicek, this led to the collapse of the European market. In the Czech Republic, after a significant drop in prices, the situation is gradually starting to turn around. However, according to analysts, there is no danger of potatoes being given away for free in Czechia.
“Europe has been strengthening potatoes for processing into fries, with around 50 percent headed outside the European Union. They go to America, they go to the Middle East, and they go to India, China and the like. The demand for these products grew. The factories contracted larger quantities, and the growers also pursued additional areas outside the contracted ones. And it was no exception that they actually received more for those non-contractual potatoes than what was in that contract, so it paid off for them,” said Josef Králicek.
However, after interest waned from Asia, according to him, potatoes in Europe hit the ceiling, which also led to absurd situations, including the current situation where they are being given away for free in Germany.
In the Czech Republic, according to Králicek, prices are strongly linked to developments in Germany. The spokeswoman of the agrarian chamber, Barbora Pánková, then pointed out that the situation in the Czech Republic was made worse by the import of cheap potatoes from France.
The Czech Republic is not self-sufficient in potato production, with approximately 160,000 tons imported annually. It is therefore unlikely that similar events would appear on the Czech market. According to agrarian analyst Petr Havel, it could at most be a local decision of individual farmers who want to be altruistic.
“A significant factor is last year’s harvest, which was favorable not only in Europe, but also in the Czech Republic. According to official statistics, 729,000 tons of potatoes were harvested here, which represents a year-on-year increase of 11.2 percent and at the same time the highest volume since 2011,” said the Czech Agrarian Chamber, which said that due to overproduction, the purchase price of potatoes fell from approximately five crowns per kilogram to 2.5 to three crowns depending on the variety. This has led to financial losses, because production costs are around five crowns per kilogram. In previous years, the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy contributed to the expansion of crop areas.
Due to the expected losses, according to both experts, it is likely that the areas under crop will be reduced in the next season. According to Králicek, this should be a decrease in the range of six to ten percent.
In recent months, there has also been a significant drop in consumer prices for potatoes. It was most significant in the fall, when wholesale prices ranged between 15 and 17 crowns per kilogram, and during discount events, around six to seven crowns. According to data from the State Agricultural Fund, in mid-October the average consumer price was 9.91 crowns per kilogram, ranging from 5.40 to 17.90 crowns.
However, with the start of the new year, potatoes become more expensive again. According to the fund’s statistics, the average price rose to 11.58 crowns per kilogram and ranges from 5.30 to 19.90 crowns.
“In order for potatoes to maintain their quality so that they do not rot, they must be stored at an optimal temperature, which increases the energy costs of storage. Therefore, the price increases slightly over the winter. And that’s happening now. That price will rise even slightly. What happened at the end of last year is really not the standard,“ said Petr Havel about the development of potato prices.
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