Analysis Potatoes
Dutch potato processors maintain a tight pace
If there is one thing that stands out in the potato processing figures, it is how stable they have been in recent months. There is no change in May. The pace has been slightly increased, but it still appears that French fry producers are being careful with their stock.
In May, Dutch processors processed 336,100 tons of potatoes into fries and other frozen potato products. This is according to figures from the Association for the Potato Processing Industry (Vavi). This is almost 5,000 tons more than in April. Last May, 332,900 tons were processed. The five-year average stands at 311,740 tons. Records are not being broken this season. For example, in the 2021 harvest year, 355,700 tons were processed in May.
More imports
Of the processed potatoes in May, 35.8%, or 120,500 tons, came from abroad. Last May, it was 115,800 tons or 34.8%. Last month, 152,400 tons of pre-fried fries were produced and 27,400 tons of other frozen potato products. The processing efficiency is at 53.5%. This is slightly lower than the last two years in this month, when the efficiency was at 54.6% and 54.2% respectively.
