Saxony's potato farmers bring in a good harvest

Weidensdorf/Leipzig. Saxony's potato farmers have their hands full: After the long drought slowed down the harvest until the beginning of September, the harvesters are now in constant use. They are getting the fresh tubers out of the ground. So far, the farmers are satisfied with the yields.

With more than 40 tons per hectare, the harvest was significantly better than last year, Ariane Weiß, Managing Director of the Saxon Potato Association, told the German Press Agency. "We have very good quality and excellent tasting potatoes." After the high prices for early potatoes, consumers now have to pay significantly less for fresh produce.

Supplies secured for dumplings & co

The harvest is filling up the warehouses of Saxony's largest potato refiner. Around 2,500 tons are currently being delivered every day, explained Friweika CEO Marko Wunderlich. The company in Weidensdorf in the district of Zwickau processes around 120,000 tons of potatoes each year into dumplings, salads and gratin. It obtains most of its tubers from contract growers as far away as Saxony-Anhalt. Wunderlich also confirms the high quality of this year's harvest, although there are local differences. In addition, the farmers had to be patient due to the long heat and drought. "Nothing worked at first."

If the soil is too hard, the tubers suffer during harvest. Damage and cracks in the skin are entry points for bacteria that cause rot, explained Weiß. Late blight can also cause considerable damage to potatoes. However, there were hardly any problems with this in Saxony this year.

In terms of total area, potato cultivation plays a minor role in Bavaria, but potatoes are still in demand on our plates. Farmers planted potatoes on just 5,400 hectares this spring. That is less than 1 percent of the total arable land.

More than 40 different potato varieties

According to Weiß, early varieties are also grown in the Leipzig area, where they were harvested from the beginning of July. The earlier start to spring in this region compared to other areas of Saxony plays into the hands of farmers. However, the focus in Saxony is on medium-early to late varieties. According to the information, more than 40 different potato varieties are grown in this region.

As the harvest progresses, the prices that consumers have to pay for fresh potatoes in the supermarket also tumble. "Early potato prices were exorbitantly high," explained Weiß. At times, around 4 euros were charged for a 2.5-kilo net. The price is now around 2.50 euros. "It will now remain at this level." At one euro per kilo, however, the farmers themselves only received around 20 cents as a producer price. (dpa)