Retail and home consumption levels are typical for this time of year. Markets for the food service sector and peeling potatoes remain challenging. There has been no progress in terms of early plantings in the south-east because of recent weather conditions. Prolonged wet soil and unsettled conditions have halted all field work.
Across Europe, export trade is ticking over, with prices unchanged, although there have been a few fresh enquiries from Eastern Europe. In Belgium, contract prices for the coming season are now being finalised and reflect the lack of improvement of sales of processed product on European and World markets.
In the U.K. ex-farm movement is mainly contract based and contacts report a “slow but steady” demand for free-buy this week.
