A ‘slow April’ has left industry leaders concerned about the season. However, a jump in demand for Jersey Royals – partly attributed to the easing of Covid restrictions in the UK meaning more people are having barbecues and eating out – has meant that exports have returned to comparable levels usually expected for this time of year.
Mike Renouard, business unit director at The Jersey Royal Company, said the company should have no problem meeting the increased demand for potatoes after a tricky start to the season.
The company are now exporting between 200 to 250 tonnes of Jersey Royals to the UK each day.
However, they were only exporting 50 to 60 tonnes a day throughout April, which is significantly lower than the average of 100 to 120 tonnes each day for the month.
‘We had a slow April but we are pretty much back to where we should be. We were limited in April as we had a lack of crop and the cold weather in the UK meant the demand was not as high,’ said Mr Renouard. ‘Hopefully with the weather improving in the UK and restrictions easing people will begin to gather more and have barbecues which will increase demand.’
He added: ‘We are lifting at a good rate but we could do with an extra drop of rain in the Island and the temperature to increase to help with the growth of the crop.’
Tim Ward, operations director of Albert Bartlett, said they remain positive ahead of the summer as demand increases.
‘We are back on track now after farmers felt nervous following a difficult start to the season. We are about 20% behind our normal distribution rates to the UK for this time of year but we are catching up fast,’ he said. ‘The closure of hospitality venues in the UK decreased demand in April but as things begin to open up and the weather starts to improve demand will continue to increase.’
He added: ‘We thought the French fishing protests might have halted distribution but actually the only delays have been caused by the ferry breaking down.’
An increase in rainfall in the Island has helped with lifting the potatoes.
The Island experienced the second-sunniest April since records began as 316.9 hours of sunshine was recorded.
Only 12mm of rainfall was recorded throughout the whole month – well below the average of 56.7mm and there was no measurable rainfall recorded for 26 days.
This forced farmers to begin irrigating their crop – a more expensive and time-consuming process – and left them concerned about the quantity of potatoes they would be able to lift.
