PDO opperdoezer potatoes in the Netherlands

Abstract

The Opperdoezer Ronde is a potato variety that was first grown in 1860 in the village of Opperdoes in the province of North-Holland in the Netherlands. In 1996 the Opperdoezer Ronde became a PDO protected product that can only be grown on 450 ha of farmland in Opperdoes every 3 years in the crop rotation. The Opperdoezer Ronde is an early potato, i.e. it has a short growing season of 10–12 weeks, from May till September. The Opperdoezer Ronde is sold at a substantially higher price than regular potatoes while intermediate costs of production are only slightly higher. This leads to a substantially higher value added per ha. The product is marketed via one company that sells the potatoes to mainly large retailers in the Netherlands. However, a maximum of one third of the production can be sold directly by the farmers to end consumers. The environmental impact per hectare of Opperdoezer Ronde is somewhat lower than for reference potatoes due to the shorter growing season. However, it becomes higher on a per ton basis due to the lower yield while it is lower per euro value added due to the high price of the Opperdoezer Ronde. The data to assess the social impact of Opperdoezer Ronde could not be accessed. However, this impact is likely negligible given the small number of producers and the absence of processing. Moreover, farmers have alternative production and employment possibilities. There might be some small impact on tourism as the village of Opperdoes has become more well-known because of the Opperdoezer Ronde.