The potato category has been slow to embrace the new season this year, with a maincrop hangover and a longer season for Jersey Royals holding back some of the fanfare that normally marks the first arrivals of the new crop.
Both growers and suppliers fear that this could be a tricky season, with plentiful volumes on the market and prices for early potatoes falling faster than they did last year.
Jersey Royals kicked off the new season as they do every year, but this time round, trade has been slower than usual, even though the volume of imports has been higher overall. The extra volumes have come as a result of better production conditions this year, with growers sailing past setbacks that have plagued the island in recent years, such as early frosts and rain in the harvest period.
“This season, Jersey Royals have been promoted more heavily than they have been in the past,” says one supplier. “I suspect that this is because they are the first new potatoes of the season and a key driver for footfall, so they pull in more customers and get sales in other categories.”
UK-grown earlies have enjoyed a similar run of production conditions and, as a result, yields are about 20 per cent higher than last year, but supplies have yet to get moving in any significant way, held up by the Jersey Royals still on the market.
At the same time, the low-priced maincrop is helping to conspire against any real movement in the market.
“The best example of this is in Suffolk, where growers have big yields so they have to contract the crop at a fixed price,” says an insider. “Everything else is a bonus to them, but all in all, it is a pretty competitive marketplace out there at the moment. However, you have to have the right quality.
“New potatoes are looking as good as I have ever seen, with both high quality and yield,” he continues. “The maincrop still in store is more of a concern this year because this summer is set to be a hot one, so it will be harder to shift stocks than it has been in the last two years, when we have had two cold, wet summers. This season should see a return to better weather and consequently, the maincrop is not selling as well. It looks as if there will be material that will struggle to find a home.
“This will be a year when growers realise the upside of contracts but we have just got to make sure that the retailers don’t do anything stupid. We don’t want to see prices coming down because that does nobody any good and I am sure the retailers would not want that either.
“Our biggest risk is Morrisons because it does not contract any new potatoes, but it packs its own, so if it can pack cheap, it will. And then the others will follow.”
There is a tighter supply of high-quality potatoes across the processing, chipping and packing sectors, with prices remaining fairly firm for best product, especially given the ample supply of lesser-quality product.
At this stage in the new season, some 900 hectares have been lifted, down from around 1,500ha to the same time last year.
“Early crop prices have been falling faster than we would like,” says a market analyst. “This does not make a good start for when the maincrop comes in from July and August.
“But in the end, it comes down to quality and where there are good samples, prices will remain relatively firm. We are getting to the point where prices are likely to stay at these levels.”
As FPJ went to press, the UK was set for a heatwave and how this will affect the crop remains to be seen. But the major players agree that in a season like this, growers and suppliers will need attention to detail to see them through.
“It all depends on the weather, but I would suggest that growers keep an eye on their crops - just because new potatoes have seen a higher yield, it does not mean it will be the same for the maincrop,” says a supplier. “But there is no point putting poor quality in store in the hope of higher prices - so many growers fall into that trap.”
PARRIPAK BUILDS ON ITS ROOTS
Parripak has spent the last quarter launching its new corporate identity to better reflect the company’s shared values of product innovation, expertise and customer care, says Gavin McNally, managing director of Parripak. We have endured a challenging quarter, but our focus on harvesting the best from our products and providing the best customer service means that the outlook is positive.
The last quarter saw us coming out of a difficult period for raw materials, while still being in stored potatoes until the new season begins.
In this time, we have begun implementing significant changes to our business, predominantly around customer service and grower partnerships. Despite many changes being in place within the last quarter, we and our customers have yet to see the full benefit. We have secured some key grower and supplier partnerships to guarantee better raw materials that we will utilise fully this coming season.
Additionally, we spent the last quarter becoming more focused internally and externally as a business, by implementing new measures within our facility to help improve yield and streamline the whole potato process, from start to finish.
Having been established in 1987 by the Parrish family and firmly rooted in farming heartland for more than 20 years, the company is today owned by the William Jackson Food Group. We have restructured and are building on this to form a team that is passionate, innovative and forward-thinking.
We are now looking ahead to what looks to be a promising season with high-quality crops, but this is a very competitive time with forecasting and pricing for the year ahead. All indications so far are encouraging; the potato crop is now at its peak growing cycle, so with the right conditions, the outcome will be positive. So far, we are on track for a more encouraging season than last year, which will allow for a better supply and greater quality of product.
For us, the potato business thrives at this time of year and we anticipate this as an opportune time to get into the field and share this fantastic crop with our customers. We value the relationships and trust we have with our growers; something that we continually nurture, while focusing on growing better material. This allows us to guarantee provenance and traceability - providing a passport for every product and load we receive to assure field-to-factory origin.
Here at Parripak, we are able to grow potatoes in the field next to our facility, while being strategically placed to deliver UK-wide from our two sites in Bedfordshire and the Scottish borders.
This year, we are extending our team of experts and have made recent additions to our new product development team, who are reviewing adding value to our raw materials - from quality to differing varieties and cuts.
Looking ahead, we are focused on delivering a consistent, higher-quality service and products that meet and exceed customer expectation. I see the future outlook as a positive one, but as a business we still have some work to do. This is an ever-changing environment with many exciting opportunities and challenges ahead.
No comments yet