Farmers satisfied with potato harvest - prices fall

This year's potato harvest in Saxony is impressive. "The potatoes have grown very nicely and the crops have been able to make good use of the rainfall," says Ariane Weiß, Managing Director of the Saxon Potato Association, to the German Press Agency. She speaks of a good, average harvest with yields of around 40 tons per hectare. "The quality is very good. The potatoes are not too big and not too small - just the way consumers want them."

According to Weiß, the first potato harvesters started in the Leipzig area in July to get the coveted early potatoes out of the ground. The harvest normally lasts until the beginning of October. The majority of the local harvest is marketed as fresh potatoes. However, many potatoes are also processed into salads and chilled products. In purely mathematical terms, Saxony could cover its consumption of fresh potatoes from domestic production, emphasized Weiß. However, there is a lack of chips, potato chips and starch factories here.

Potato cultivation on the decline

The Schönberg agricultural cooperative and Dennheritzer Agrarproduktion in the Zwickau district are currently in the middle of the potato harvest. They grow around a dozen different varieties of potatoes on almost 260 hectares. The harvesting machines will still be in use here well into October. The tubers go to the potato refiner Friweika, where they are used to make gratins, dumplings, fried potatoes, potato pancakes and other dishes.

However, measured against the total arable land of almost 702,000 hectares, potato cultivation in Saxony is low and has recently declined. According to figures from the State Statistical Office, potatoes are being grown on around 5,100 hectares this year. This is a decrease of 4.3 percent.

As the harvest progresses, prices have fallen, reports Weiß - but much more for producers than for consumers in the supermarket. However, potatoes are already selling for less than early potatoes did some time ago. She expects them to become even cheaper, especially as part of promotions.

Sought-after early potatoes also from Saxony from July

In spring, the first potatoes come from abroad, after which farmers in the Palatinate in particular provide supplies. From July, the first early potatoes will also be available from Saxony itself, namely from the Leipzig and Wurzen region, explains Weiß. However, their cultivation is complex. They are pre-germinated at the end of March or beginning of April and are protected from the cold with fleece. However, the effort is worth it because of the higher prices that can be achieved with early potatoes.

Potatoes have a firm place in Saxon cuisine. Not only boiled with schnitzel, fish or beefsteak, but also as a salad, fried, as a dumpling for a festive roast or as "Klitscher" with apple sauce.