Young potatoes - prices down, farmers complain

Potato prices are falling. The mood among potato producers in Poland is becoming increasingly pessimistic. It is widely said that this season, due to a significant increase in plantings, potato production will greatly increase compared to last year's very low levels. This will negatively affect prices.

However, not only prices and their dynamics are causing concerns for farmers. Numerous problems in many regions of the country are caused by the weather, which negatively impacts the quality of tubers. Importantly, farmers in some parts of the country are complaining about drought, while in other regions of Poland (including parts of Wielkopolska and Łódzkie voivodeships, with potato cultivation centers around Kalisz and Sieradz) there is an excess of water leading to consequences such as potato diseases.

Let's get back to prices. A downward trend has been dominating the wholesale market for some time now and it has a nationwide character. There was a temporary break in the trend at the end of June and beginning of July, but the downward price movement quickly returned to the wholesale potato market.

As a result, the most common selling prices of potatoes in large wholesale have already dropped to the level of 1.00-1.33 PLN/kg (0.23-0.31 EUR/kg), with buying offers now appearing below one złoty. As seen in the chart, the average price for this season is still above the average of the previous five years, but the difference is minimal. It is likely, therefore, that this relationship for potatoes will be reversed, and the current price will be lower than the long-term average, as is already the case with wholesale prices of many other domestic vegetables.