Dutch Potato Exporters Struggling to Find Markets During COVID-19 Pandemic

Dutch potato producers, which depend “heavily” on exports, are faced with full warehouses due to the COVID-19 pandemic response measures, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released April 23. About 1.5 million metric tons of the Netherlands’ 2019 potato harvest is still in storage, the report said. Due to “worldwide lockdowns,” Dutch potato growers have lost the equivalent of $186 million to $241 million and are “quite concerned about their inability to identify buyers,” especially as storage costs continue to add up.