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Comment: Consumer demand for potatoes has remained strong as we enter the Christmas period and potato growers cease trading for 2018.
Prices have remained static over the past few weeks, with no price changes being reported by potato growers.
IFA national potato committee chair Thomas McKeown has called on all retailers not to devalue their produce for consumer footfall over the Christmas period.
After the challenging year with weather extremes, growers should be receiving a premium on their produce when demand is at its peak and not suffer price cuts.
All crops have been lifted from the ground, with no potatoes left to dig in 2019. Meanwhile, in the UK, production is down by 13% compared with the five-year average. This is due to a 4.4% reduction in plantings and 12% drop in yields. 2018 has been the worst year for potato production in the UK since 2012. However, Scottish potato yields increased by 3% on 2017 figures. The April 2019 European future price is now at €305/t.
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