Soil conditions in many parts of the UK are drying out well to enable slightly earlier than usual plantings of potatoes.

Rob Burrow, market information manager at the British Potato Council, said: “So far, planting of the 2008 crop is going very well. Weather conditions in February mean that soils have dried after the January rains.”

Burrow estimated that some 1,300 hectares are already planted and, in the south of the country, particularly Cornwall, new plantings have been going ahead apace. “For the early varieties, we are slightly ahead of last year,” said Burrow. “At this point last season, there were only 900ha planted.”

Devon, Kent, Cheshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, Suffolk and Anglesey have all started planting, but more northerly counties are delayed. “It is still quite wet further north,” said Burrow. “And for the maincrop varieties produced further north, it is a little early to plant, as there is still risk of frost. We expect a lot more will start planting in mid-March.”

As far as the market situation is concerned, just over two million tonnes of potatoes were still in store at the end of January, which is about 14 per cent down on the same point last year, when levels stood at 2.4mt.

The market has been steady since Christmas, although there is a strong presence of imported potatoes for the fresh, processing and restaurant markets. Burrow said this is putting prices under pressure, and most of the imports are from the Netherlands, Belgium and France, as the market for their exports to eastern Europe has not been as strong this year. “The UK market has probably helped them, and to February 22, imports stood at 102,000t, compared to 60,000t this time last year,” he said. “The main thing is the market is really looking for quality potatoes, and wastage has been high this year because of the rain and floods last summer.”

Top-quality supplies are therefore on the short side, and there are good prices at the top end of the market. “But for the average and lower grade supplies, there is more than enough product coming forward, and there is a widening in prices between the bottom and top ends of the market,” Burrow added.

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