Bpc says potato plantings down 5% - farmers weekly

POTATO PLANTINGS could be down as much as 5.5% to 121,400ha (300,000 acres) in the UK, the British Potato Council has said. Its first plantings estimate predicted the fall based on an

unregistered area of 9.5%, slightly lower than last year. Head of market information, Denis Alder, said the situation was similar across Europe. “We have information that EU plantings are

down 5-6% as well. It tends to be a cyclical trading picture, so the fall is compensation for low prices last season. “A lot now depends on the weather. If it is anything less than ideal,

then it could push prices up. Realistically, though, it’s probably too late for ideal weather conditions now.” April 2006 potato futures were slightly down on the week to £146.21/t, but Mr

Alder predicted a rise when the markets had absorbed the plantings data. And that is good news for farmers, because the spot market for the coming season is expected to be more sluggish than

in the past because of changes to contracts. “Big suppliers have stipulated in their contracts with growers that they will not buy extra tonnages, as they have done in the past, and that’s

made growers more cautious about planting.” _Registered and total plantings by crop year (in thousands ha, 2005 estimated)_ _1999_ _2000_ _2001_ _2002_ _2003_ _2004_ _2005_ _BPC registered

area_ 145.5 133.9 131.6 128.4 115.0 118.9 113.3 _Adjustment for unregistered area_ 6.9% 9.2% 11.2% 8.0% 8.5% 10.1% 9.5% _TOTAL PLANTINGS_ 155.6 146.2 146.4 138.7 124.8 130.9 124.1