Press release
Agrico’s payout price for seed potatoes rises to € 59.84
Emmeloord - Agrico will pay its members an average price of € 59.84 per 100 kg for seed potatoes of 28 mm upwards (including oversized tubers) from the 2024 harvest. This latest higher payout price reflects a strong demand for potatoes from both export markets and the processing industry. This was announced by Agrico during its payout meetings held this week across the country. The figure represents the average price for loose seed potatoes harvested in the fall, size 28 mm upwards, directly from the farm.
CEO Mark Zuidhof: “We’ve had a fantastic year"
“We’ve had a fantastic year,” says CEO Mark Zuidhof. “All previous records have been broken – both at Agrico and across most of our subsidiaries.” He highlighted the performance of subsidiary Agrico España which has firmly re-established itself in the market. Zuidhof: “Agrico now has a market share there of over 35%.”
Other subsidiaries also reported exceptional results. “We’re seeing strong growth with Agrico Nordic in Denmark, Agrico Polska and Agrico UK sold out completely and Desmazières (France) almost fully sold out. Even Interseme (Slovenia), our smallest subsidiary, saw record-breaking turnover.”
Agrico’s payout price has been steadily rising for several years. For the 2023 harvest, Agrico paid € 44.65 per 100 kg. In previous years, the price level increased by an average of 18% per year.
Semagri and BioSelect
Semagri, which joined Agrico in 2023, reported a payout price of € 48.26 per 100 kg for size 28 mm upwards. There was a good demand for varieties in the starch, flake and granule segments this year. “We’ve made major progress here,” says Zuidhof. “We’re seeing significant acreage expansion in both the Netherlands and Denmark. We’re confident this price has room to rise.” Semagri is increasingly focusing on supplying higher-grade seed potatoes to both domestic and international customers.
Last week, Agrico announced that the payout price for organic seed potatoes from Agrico BioSelect for the 2024 harvest is € 95.20 per 100 kg. For ware potatoes in the recommended size grade, the cooperative pays € 77.50 per 100 kg.
High demand for seed potatoes
Season 2024/2025 was marked by strong early demand from countries that traditionally import early seed potatoes. There was also a good demand and a positive market mood within the European market, says Wieger van der Werff, Agrico’s Commercial Manager. “We exported significantly more seed potatoes to Algeria and Egypt, and within Europe, Belgium showed the highest growth.” Overall, yields were high and much of the crop met seed potato size specifications.
In early March 2025, the fries market came under pressure, partly due to import tariffs announced by the American president. “That added an unexpected twist to an otherwise successful season.”
Outlook for 2025
The new export season is off to a slower start. Overseas markets are facing low ware potato prices, and as a result, Agrico expects a smaller demand for Dutch seed potatoes. “In early-growing regions of Southern Europe, prices are on average very low. One bright spot for Agrico is that our varieties are performing very well in Algeria. Arizona and Rudolph are in high demand and our new varieties Paradiso and Meryem have also done extremely well there,” says Van der Werff.
Meanwhile, the industry in Northwestern Europe faces challenges due to the strong Euro, the growth of the processing sector in Asia and market uncertainty stemming from developments in America. “Buyers seem less eager than they were last year,” Van der Werff concludes.
//End of press release//
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