AHDB Potatoes is set to launch its Potato Data Centre at the sector’s upcoming trade show in Harrogate.
The tool will allow growers and others in the supply chain to access data on price, variety, planted area, market sector and yield.
It will be available to use on the AHDB’s stand at BP2017, the British potato industry’s annual trade show, on 22 and 23 November.
The launch comes as prices in the potato sector hit a three-year low due to a four per cent increase in planted area and reportedly above-average yields.
Rob Clayton, strategy director at the levy organisation, said: “The good news is that as growers and retailers continue to work closer together, a higher percentage of growers supply potatoes on contract, at a pre-agreed price.”
“BP2017, later this month, is an established event where these important relationships are strengthened.”
The data available from the Potato Data Centre comes from AHDB’s annual levy return forms, as well as price information from weekly calls to growers and purchasers made by members of a recently expanded team.
Access to information captured on levy forms puts AHDB in an exclusive position to provide this free service, the body said.
Clayton added: “Information is presented in comparative and interactive graphs. Users will be able to pull in data on the variety and market sector relevant to them, and then compare that data to that of previous seasons to identify trends. This is a real game-changer for growers and the supply chain.”
AHDB will publish a British yield figure at the end of November as lifting is completed in Scotland and Yorkshire. But Clayton said his organisation would have “a good picture of market conditions for the season” in time for BP2017.
