Young potatoes - it was better, but only for a moment.

At the end of June, we saw a halt in the downward trend of young potato prices. There was even a corrective increase in these prices. These changes were due to certain issues in the potato harvests. The source of the problems was, of course, the weather. However, the halt in the wholesale price decreases of potatoes turned out to be short-lived this time.

The wholesale market for these vegetables returned to a long-term, seasonal downward trend, and since the beginning of this month, the average price of yellow potatoes in bulk has fallen again by 12 percent. Currently, the selling prices of these vegetables packed in 15 kg bags are mostly between 1.13-1.50 PLN/kg, with the biggest drops noted in those regions of the country where potatoes are traditionally the cheapest (Łódź Voivodeship - Sieradz and Łódź regions and Greater Poland Voivodeship - Kalisz region).

As seen in the above chart, the average price remains lower than that of the same period in the 2023 season. Currently, this difference is significant, as it has exceeded -30 percent year on year. However, it is important to remember that last year was extremely unfavorable for potato production, and since summer, we have had shortages in their supply, which generated such high prices.

Compared to the average of the previous five years, the current price is still higher. It is now +14 percent. It also seems that the most likely scenario is one in which this positive difference to the long-term average price will be maintained. There are significantly more potatoes than last year, but this is not due to exceptionally large yields. This year, there has been an increase in potato plantings, especially early ones. However, the production of these vegetables will still be significantly lower than in good or even average years from the previous decade.