For consumers, the period up to the beginning of October is a good time to buy potatoes. According to experts, prices could fall to well under one euro per kilo, even for small bags.
Consumers in Germany will be able to buy potatoes particularly cheaply in the next one to two weeks. “It’s a good time to do so because the harvest is now underway. Prices will therefore continue to fall,” said Christoph Hambloch, market expert at the Agricultural Market Information Company (AMI) in Bonn. Potatoes are therefore cheapest at the end of September and the beginning of October.
Hambloch expects that the recently already fallen sales prices for so-called small containers – i.e. bags with 1 to 2.5 kilos of potatoes – will slip from the current 1.16 euros to 85 to 90 cents per kilo. Larger bags would be significantly cheaper. According to Hambloch, the prices are lower than a year ago. In September 2023, they were 1.26 euros per kilo for small containers and fell to as low as 99 cents.
The fact that prices are so low is also due to the extraordinarily good yields this year. According to preliminary official figures, the potato harvest is at a record level. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture is expecting around 12.7 million tonnes – 9 percent more than in 2023 and 17 percent more than the multi-year average. This is mainly due to the nine percent larger cultivation area.
Per capita consumption of potatoes and potato products decreased
Because of the warm, humid weather and the heavy rainfall, many potato farmers had to contend with blight this year. However, this has been brought under control, said Hambloch. The quality and ingredients of the potatoes are good.
According to the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), potatoes are the fourth most important staple food in the world after rice, wheat and corn. The People’s Republic of China is the largest producer of potatoes, and Germany was ranked 10th in the world in 2022. The most important growing region is Lower Saxony, with a share of 45.5 percent of Germany’s potato growing area.
Because rice and pasta are increasingly being used, per capita consumption of potatoes and potato products in Germany has fallen by 28 percent since 1990. In the 2022/2023 financial year, it was around 54 kilograms per capita. In the period ending at the end of June, citizens ate a good 16 kilos of fresh potatoes and almost 38 kilos of products such as French fries, potato salad or chips.
Source: Stern
