News on The Potato Supply Chain from Belgium

Finally, potato growers in Belgium can relax a bit. At last the weather conditions were in their favour and they could start the harvest

INTERPOM | PRIMEURS, the leading indoor trade fair for the potato, vegetable and fruit sector in Europe, shows strong growth in 2016, featuring 310 exhibitors and all stand space fully booked.

Starting from the 2016 – 2017 season, the Belgapom quotation will be made up of three parts, each supplemented by their own market sentiment: Bintje, Challenger and Fontane.

Agricultural machinery manufacturer AVR presents its new option on the Puma 3 during Potato Europe and the Aardappeldemodag: the All Conditions Control or in short the ACC.

Potatoes are the second largest cultivated crop in Belgium and a key ingredient in Belgian cuisine. It's the base of the world-famous French fries, and is considered by Belgians as part of their national pride.

Interpom | Primeurs 2016 promises to be the biggest edition of this potato event ever and the 2016 theme is: 'Growing through precision technology'.

Stories about large losses in harvest in the Belgian sector due to the heavy rainfall are circulating in various media. But Romain Cools of Belgapom says it is too early to come up with a percentage.

In early June, AVR bvba - manufacturer of agricultural machinery for a.o. the potato sector - officially opened its new production facility in the presence of Governor Carl Decaluwé, Mayor Kris Declercq and Roeselare Aldermen Marc Van Walleghem, Nathalie Muylle and Griet Coppé.

The first common event of Freshfel Europe & Europatat took place this week: “Doing something good to yourself and to others will be the driver for the purchasing decision of fresh-produce customers”, concluded the associations.

Europatat appoints a new board, including Jos Muyshondt as President, Domenico Citterio as vice-president and Gilles Fontaine as treasurer.

Europatat and Freshfel Europe will jointly celebrate their first common annual meeting on 2 June 2016 in Brussels.

The remarkable growth of the Belgian potato-processing sector in the past few decades has continued in 2015.

The Europatat Congress 2016 will take place in Brussels (Belgium) on 1 & 2 June 2016, under the slogan “Not business as usual!”

Celcaa, FoodDrinkEurope, SACAR and Copa and Cogeca held a high-level Seminar in Brussels today to
discuss the new EU promotion policy for agri-food products which is entering into force on 1 December

Dewulf, specialist in harvesting technology for potatoes and carrots, has implemented extensive updates for 2016 on the current Kwatro self-propelled 4-row sieving harvester.

The North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) expect the total potato production (excluding seed and starch potatoes) of this year' s harvest to amount to 24.5 million tonnes. This is 14.1 percent below the potato production last year and 2.9 percent below the 5-year average.

Boeren, telers en producenten die hun sorteerproces wensen te optimaliseren, moeten zeker en vast een bezoekje brengen aan PotatoEurope, waar TOMRA Sorting Food de Field Potato Sorter zal demonstreren.

During Potato Europe, AVR will present its latest potato harvesters, the Puma 3 and the Spirit 9200 Varioweb, for the first time during live harvesting demonstrations to the general public.