Potato World vision Potatoes in a different way We as Dutch farmers are world champions in potato growing. We produce the highest yields per hectare, keep diseases under control, and are able to supply potatoes from Dutch soil all year round. Moreover, our potatoes are efficiently marketed and processed by experienced traders and a high-tech industry. So, we’re doing rather well, at least that’s what you’d think. But I don’t think so. I regularly meet consumers who never eat potatoes. It’s important that these are mainly young people - our customers of the future. The reasons are varied. The potato is supposedly fattening, none too healthy and difficult to prepare (peeling). For me, however, one reason stands out first and foremost and that is that the potato - in its purest form, meaning a table potato without additions - is apparently tasteless. Unlike with the other points mentioned above, I totally agree with the consumer. Leaving exceptions aside, the taste factor is a blind spot in the Dutch potato world. Just check the varieties lists of the big cooperatives and trading companies, you won’t find descriptions about taste. When I attend a varieties demonstration, I’m shown the peeling quality of new varieties, I hear about yields and susceptibility to disease, but taste? No way. And how are differences among varieties explained in the supermarkets? Exactly, with the labels ‘floury’ or ‘firm’, but is that the same as taste? If we want the consumer to continue to buy potatoes, things have to change. I call for a revaluation of the taste of the potato. Because yes, there really are many different tastes within the various potato varieties. For example, the Belle de Fontenay we grow has a buttery taste, our Pink Fir Apples are nutty and our Rosevals have a creamy taste. Let’s select new potato varieties mainly by such distinguishing taste characteristics and make a point of them in our marketing strategies. We already have examples from other sectors. Think of the honey tomato and the candy cucumber, for example. It’s the potato’s turn next. Arwin Bos Crop farmer in Haarlemmermeer Founder of De Aardappelboer PW-ACTUA Butter Group buys 65 low-energy trucks The Butter Group recently bought 65 new, Mercedes, Scania and DAF trucks with clean, euro-6 engines. The first was put into use in mid January of this year. The transport company purposely chooses A-brand trucks in order to reduce breakdown time to a minimum. Berry Zweekhorst of supplier Wensink hands over the keys of the first Mercedes Actros to Marc Nijdam, General Manager of the Butter Group. For the main part, the 65 new trucks form an expansion of the existing vehicle fleet, so that the total number now exceeds three hundred. ‘Our company has grown enormously in recent years. We built up our European network with branches in Germany and Hungary in 2013. In order to be able to continue to grow in the coming years, we’ve expanded our vehicle fleet considerably’, General Manager Marc Nijdam tells us. ‘We purposely choose A-brand trucks in order to reduce down time to a minimum and give the best possible service to customers. In addition, safety, driving comfort and performance are also important arguments’, according to Nijdam. The Mercedes, Scania and DAF trucks are all equipped with numerous fuel-saving innovations and economical euro-6 engines. ‘We have high expectations of the new trucks as far as fuel use is concerned. In combination with our unique lightweight hoppers, we achieve the lowest-possible CO2 emission per transported ton of product, making us the leader in the market of transport with road transport’, says Nijdam. ● Potato World 2014 • number 2 9 Pagina 8
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