Poor Weather Leaves 10% of Potato Area Yet to Be Harvested

Potato harvesting stalled again last week due to the broken weather with best estimates suggesting there is 10% of the potato area still to be cleared.

Even if the weather remains dry up to Christmas we could still see a scenario, where a significant area of crop remains unharvested heading into the New Year.

Some growers are reporting an increase in yield this season. However, due to the amount of clay being harvested into boxes this may not be as significant as they think.

Tare levels and other harvest losses are higher than last year so all these factors will be significant as the season progresses.

With most of the UK crop now harvested, this has reduced the amount of surplus in the market. As a result, prices have stabilised and in some market sectors farm gate prices have actually firmed.

Ex-Farm Potato Prices reported to IFA