01 Message from Gerard Backx

Our resilience and agility were put to the test once again this year. Licensed crops in Asia and America took off, while harvests in north-western Europe were disappointing for several reasons. It was a year of peaks and troughs. Our percentage sold as seed potatoes this year was much higher than in previous years. And that translated into a good payout price for our growers.

Across the board, we see a new balance emerging. Our strategy of focusing on different segments and regions works to our advantage. Where we lose out in yield and acreage in Europe, we can make huge strides in other parts of the world. Indeed, there is still a world to be won, considering that we now cover only 4% of the world's potato acreage with our varieties.

In 2023-2024, we did not manage to grow. We had not anticipated this. No one had predicted such a challenging growing season and it reminded us, once again, just how unruly and unpredictable seed potato growing can be. It also underscored the importance of resilience and agility. For us, but also for our employees, growers, customers and partners. We have demonstrated that again this year.

I want to stress that global growth does not come at the expense of north-western Europe in general and the Netherlands in particular. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to growth elsewhere in the world, we can invest in research and accelerate the development of new varieties. Over the next 10 years, the market will see the emergence of varieties from HZPC and STET whose impact on our growers, customers and the environment will be unprecedented. And then there’s our contribution towards worldwide food security. This may require a little patience, but will be well worth the wait.

We are on the eve of a transformation within the seed potato sector. This stems partly from the need to become more sustainable, but is mainly driven by our own conviction that things can and should be done differently. That is why we are working with Aurora (our business transformation programme) to strengthen and improve our own internal organisation. We are focussing on acceleration within our breeding programme; making the case for new technologies. Paving the way for others and asking growers, customers, partners and employees to join in. Together, we have a exceptionally bright future ahead of us.

With this annual report, I am not only concluding the 2023-2024 financial year, but also my career at Royal HZPC Group B.V. On 1 September 2024, I stepped down as CEO and Hans Huistra succeeded me. A well-considered decision on my part, but after 23 years, this signifies considerable change. I have seen Royal HZPC Group B.V. grow from a Dutch seed potato company to a global market leader. It has been great to be part of that process. I am proud of how we worked with our employees, growers, partners and customers to realise the developments and grateful to have contributed to and witnessed the evolution. I wish Hans the best of luck, but above all hope that he enjoys running this wonderful company. I can look back on the past 23 years with a great sense of satisfaction. Thank you to everyone who has been part of it.

Good bye,

Gerard Backx