Potato traders in the Netherlands report a market flipped from last year: growers are reluctant to sell while buyers line up, with prices in some cases threefold above last season, says Klaas Greydanus of the Heerenveen-based potato trading company.
“The colder weather has led to an increase in potato consumption again. Floury potatoes for stamppot, in particular, are selling well in stores,” says Klaas Greydanus of the eponymous potato trading company in Heerenveen. According to the trader, it remains uncertain how prices will develop. “Growers aren’t willing to part with their potatoes so easily, and that’s certainly creating some movement in the market. The situation is very different from last year.”
Sourcing across the Netherlands. For Greydanus, the new potato season traditionally begins in Tholen, and throughout the season the company sources potatoes from Friesland, the polders and North Holland. “We’re active throughout the Netherlands, but naturally, we also buy a lot of potatoes locally,” Klaas explains. “Here in the north, we’re generally seeing fairly normal yields. In the south, some areas have suffered more damage.” The regional split matters for buyers: lots from the north carry fewer question marks over lifting conditions, while southern product may arrive with harvest-delay damage priced in only after the fact.
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A threefold gap. “On the other hand, some buyers still seem to think that nothing has changed, but potatoes simply cannot be sold at last year’s prices. In some cases, the difference is threefold,” Klaas continues. He describes the quality of this year’s potatoes as reasonable: “in a year with a poor potato harvest, there are always fewer potatoes rejected than in a year with an abundant crop” — a season in which grading lines, paradoxically, run a little lighter.
Retail focus, with reservations. Greydanus currently focuses on the domestic market, particularly the retail sector. “It’s a shame that potatoes are used as loss leaders when they’re already a relatively inexpensive product,” Klaas says. “However, at these prices, you do see consumers switching more readily to convenience products” — a shift that quietly reshapes pack formats and margins along the whole domestic chain.
Electric trucks next. The Friesland-based trader will soon introduce three electric trucks as part of a new initiative, citing “the combination of high diesel prices, a subsidy scheme, and our 1,000 solar panels” as what made the switch an attractive option — a small fleet decision that says much about how margins and energy costs now shape logistics choices in the potato trade.
The trader’s account aligns with the broader northwest-European picture of a smaller, weather-damaged crop meeting firm demand: growers with sound potatoes in store currently hold the stronger hand, and the standoff with buyers anchored to last year’s price levels is likely to define the Dutch table market through the winter.
