RE SEARCH Potato innovation continues to be necessary to feed a growing world population. Average seasonal prices ware potatoes The Netherlands 5-seasonal average etc. ‘What you see here is, without doubt, also promising for the Dutch potato sector, for example where it concerns the processing industry. For a long time it was the Netherlands and the United States that showed increases, but export has levelled off in recent years. It’s now mainly Belgium that profits from the extra demand, which is, for example, due to lower raw material prices and an enormous production capacity. Unique Golden Triangle ‘If we take the five-year averages of the seasonal prices of consumption potatoes for the last fifteen years, you see that there’s still a gradual increase.’ (Ruud Huirne) Fluctuations are significant Movements like these are going to repeat themselves in the same or more extreme forms according to Huirne. ‘If we take the five-year averages of the seasonal prices of consumption potatoes for the last fifteen years, you see that there’s still a gradual increase. At the same time it should be noted that the volatility has also increased. We expect these enormous price fluctuations to continue in the coming years.’ This has several reasons according to the Rabo top man. ‘We detect a reduction in participants in the free market. More contract growing will lead to more price fluctuations in times of extra demand or QSR outlets in China supply. And then, there’s also the influence of the changing climate and temporary fluctuations in weather conditions. You could say that, on average, the temperature is rising, but meanwhile we were also confronted with drought and a cold May month. These types of fluctuations are significant’, Huirne declares pragmatically. 2014 2020F 2014 2020F YUM!® 2012 2015F 2014 2018F ‘We know, for example, that the Chinese government has even designated the potato as a staple food. This means that they’re releasing more funds to stimulate both cultivation and consumption.’ (Ruud Huirne) China is making money available What the Dutch potato sector can positively look forward to, according to Huirne, is the increasing demand for potatoes from Asia and Africa. ‘We know, for example, that the Chinese government has even designated the potato as a staple food. This means that they’re releasing more funds to stimulate both cultivation and consumption. In increasingly large parts of the world, people are discovering the positive characteristics of the potato, as regards health as well as cultivation characteristics. For example, the potato is relatively-efficient in the use of water and it’s now also possible to grow the crop in saline soils’, Huirne explains. The figures shown by the Rabo banker reveal that there’s already growth in consumption. For example, the average annual growth in consumption volume is particularly high in India, China, Africa and Latin America, which also translates into the enormous increase in the number of QSR restaurants of chains such as McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, For the Netherlands, the opportunities mainly lie in variety development and seed potato export’, Huirne thinks. ‘We’re still seeing an increase in the global export in which the Netherlands is by far the most dominant. This is also thanks to our good geographic location, infrastructure, ports, the extensive range of varieties and our relevant knowledge and expertise. In this context, I’d like to refer to the unique Golden Triangle that we’ve got in the Netherlands, namely collaborating suppliers, education and training and research. I have the privilege of speaking here to a room full of top entrepreneurs and researchers from the potato sector, and I see excellent opportunities for you as front runners to be successful with innovative products in all the countries I just mentioned. That’s also why you’ve been meeting up in WPC for five years now. And I think there’s a good reason why such an initiative attracts attention from abroad’, according to the Rabo top man. Good entrepreneurs are still making a profit ‘It’s important, of course, that the primary sector, the seed, starch and consumption growers, can still make a decent living, if the business sector around them is to continue to profit from that improving world market’, is Huirne’s opinion. He’s not too concerned yet, even if the past year was a difficult one. ‘We can still say that the profitability of the businesses is still very good. The financing volume of the crop farmers is also continually on the 16 Potato World 2016 • number 3 Pagina 15
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