Spud hopes played down
Spud hopes played down
HOPES that UK potato prices will rise on the back of more expensive imports are unlikely to materialise, says the British Potato Council.
Attempts by Continental potato suppliers to talk up prices are yet to succeed, says the BPCs Rob Burrow. "It would suggest that stocks over there are diminishing, but this is certainly not the case. They are only short of quality material and this is nothing new."
Even if import values do rise, Mr Burrow does not think they will drag UK prices up. "Prices for top quality material are steadily rising, worth about £200-250/t. But at the other end prices for poor quality potatoes have dropped about £10 in the last 10 days to £50-£60/t.
"With little work going on in the fields growers are concentrating on moving recently lifted and suspect crops, putting pressure on the market."
Imports are continuing at a steady rate of 8000t a week and total imports stand at about 168,000t, compared with 20,000t in 1999.
NFU potato adviser Fiona Reilly agrees that cheap imports continue to hold down prices, despite the UKs shortfall this season.
Total UK production in 2000 was 5.88m tonnes, according to latest estimates from the BPC. That is 184,000t less than the November estimate and 14% down on 1999.
"We would like to see better values in the UK, but as long as there are sufficient imports at a more attractive price, a rise is unlikely," she says. *