Heavy rainfall has been recorded in Belgium since last week. West Flanders in particular has been severely hit by the weather. Some people have already been evacuated due to the floods, FreshPlaza informs. The rain is also taking a toll on vegetable cultivation. “Fortunately, we have already harvested all the potatoes, but in general, we estimate that 20 percent of the fields still need to be harvested. Many are in a hopeless situation,” said Jurgen Duthoo, of Warnez Potatoes.
Due to the rainfall, provincial governor of West Flanders Carl Decaluwé declared a general emergency and intervention plan for flooding on Thursday. “Ever since Monday, November 6, the Westhoek region has been suffering from flooding. The weather models of the RMI predicted a peak during the night of November 9 to 10,” said a press release from the province. These models also indicate that the worst seems to have passed already. “After a lot of rain, we entered calmer waters last night,” said Carl Decaluwe on Saturday, as reported by Nieuwsblad. “According to the weather forecast, it will stay mostly dry until Sunday evening, with only limited local showers. That means cautiously positive news for the situation in West Flanders and Westhoek.”
Still, many potato, leek and carrot growers will remain anxious for days, said Jurgen. “Many don’t even dare looking at the weather forecast anymore, because they are afraid of what may come next. This is also having an impact on the market. The supply is low. Many have problems, of course, and in the plots with availability, growers are considering whether it would not be better to wait. Some still have potatoes in the ground and don’t know if they will get all their volumes harvested. However, they have contract obligations, so the free lots may be used for contracts. Also, some growers are waiting to see whether prices will go up even more.”
Read also: Ukrainian potato prices are 80% higher than in 2022 and are growing fast
While Warnez Potatoes is still coming off relatively well, grower Filip Rosseel at VRT describes the impact at his location. “What’s still in the ground now is not going to be good anymore. We recorded almost 200 liters of water per square meter,” he said. “It’s been really catastrophic. Some other colleagues had not yet harvested any potatoes and may have lost their entire crop,” said Rosseel. “Our corn is also still in the field. Others still have to harvest beets. The outlook is not good. I also have to sow wheat by November, but the potatoes have to go first, otherwise I risk a hefty fine. For my farm, it would amount to 14,000 Euro.”
It’s a problem that Jurgen also addresses. “We are lucky to have already harvested everything, but many are in dire straits. Not only because much of that harvest seems to have been lost, but also because the fields remain wet. After harvesting the potatoes, some growers have to plant other crops to meet nitrogen regulations. They can’t plant now, nor do they know when they will be able to. What if they don’t get the chance? That generates a lot of anxiety. It remains to be seen what impact this is going to have on the rest of the season.”
