POTAFTO MARKETS

摘要

Physical market prices remain steady in France and Belgium and are continuing to rise in Germany and Britain. It is only the Dutch processing sector which is letting the side down, as far as EU growers are concerned, although there has also been somerecent processing market weakness in Germany. The fry manufacturers appear to have regained a measure of control over the market. The combination of reduced processing quotations on the Rotterdam market and the ticking of the clock for expiry of the April futures contracts resulted in a sell-off on the Amsterdam market yesterday, although there was some stabilisation today and the contract closed at 184 EUR/tonne. Revised harvest estimates have been produced by France and Spain, and make it clear that the recent French expansion has been confined to production of ware ('conservation') potatoes. Dutch seed exporters are gradually succeeding in replacing their lost Algerian sales but, ominously, the extra purchases have all been by EU countries.