DUTCH FARMERS FACING A MOUNTAIN OF A PROBLEM WITH POTATOES...

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BEEMSTER, Netherlands (Reuters) - It’s potato planting season, but many Dutch farmers are facing a mountain of a problem, with a million tons of potatoes left over from last season due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Restaurants in the Netherlands, many serving popular deep fried “patat”, have been closed since mid-March, with a ban on public gatherings set to last until June 1 at least.. With their closure, the market for potatoes collapsed overnight.

“This is a dramatic season, a turn of events no one could have predicted,” said Dirk de Heer from his farm in Beemster, in North Holland.
The humble potato symbolises Dutch agrifood culture
De Heer says he is selling his crop to a dairy farmer for 0.01 euro per kilogram, instead of the 18 cents he had hoped to receive.

De Heer is one of around a thousand farmers in the Netherlands in the same situation.

Food potato production in the Netherlands is roughly 4 million tons annually, of which a quarter is exported.

The country’s agricultural organization LTO estimates damages from the virus outbreak so far at 6 billion euros, with the floral industry also hard-hit.

Reporting by Hilde Verweij. Writing by Toby Sterling;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle.

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