German new potatoes are now coming onto the markets – albeit at record prices. Why is the Germans’ favorite vegetable so expensive at the moment?
The new potato season has started. But the joy of vegetables fades quickly when you look at the price. Potatoes are currently more expensive than ever.
According to “agrarheute.com”, 100 kilograms of potatoes currently cost 80 to 82 euros in Lower Saxony – producer price – and thus twelve euros more than last year.
2019 price record is broken
So far, 2019 has been the year with the highest potato prices, but even this record is broken by the new potatoes, which cost four euros more. The prices this season even started at 86 euros per 100 kilograms, but there is now a larger offer and the prices are falling slightly.
“There is concern that the very rapid clearing of the potato areas could lead to lower yields. Oversizes are already in short supply and can achieve significant surcharges,” the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture points out in its current market report.
German new potatoes are also on the market in southern Germany. Hot days here slow down demand significantly and prices are also at a high level of between 82 and 84 euros per 100 kilograms.
These are the reasons for high potato prices
But what are the reasons for this year’s record prices? The experts from the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Agriculture explain that the harvest is “below average” and because it rains too little, irrigation before harvest is necessary. The current weather is also causing fluctuating sales.
Potato prices are less affected by the war in Ukraine than grain prices, for example. However, increases in fuel, energy and fertilizer costs are also passed on with potato prices.
But there is also hope: “The precipitation of the past few days is positive for the development of stocks of the later varieties,” say the experts at the Chamber in Schleswig-Holstein.
By the way: Whether the currently high potato prices will also affect processed foods such as French fries or dumpling dough will only become apparent later and then especially in the south. In Bavaria, 60 percent of the potato cultivation area is used for processing potatoes, which are somewhat cheaper than ware potatoes, but are ultimately subject to similarly strong fluctuations.
