Agrico names Johan Barendregt as new chairman to spearhead board and supervisory committee

NETHERLANDS – Agrico, a cooperative potato company, has named Johan Barendregt as the new chairman of the Agrico board and supervisory board.

This new development was announced at the company’s annual central members’ council meeting following Adrie Vermeulen’s resignation from that position.

Vermeulen stepped down after 12 years at the helm signaling a tenure of service as an Agrico board member. He has carried out the responsibilities as the cooperative’s chairman for the past seven years.

According to the company, the arable farmer from Swifterbant will go down in history as a chairman who allowed each member to voice their opinions.

Vermeulen was given a sculpture as a token of the members’ affiliation. He received an additional designation as a Member of Merit in acknowledgment of his enormous contribution to the cooperative.

In addition to Barendregt’s appointment, Johannes van Heerwaarden was reappointed, and Mr. Kees Dekker was named as an external member to take Mr. Ensing’s place. The CFO of Royal Koopmans is Kees Dekker.

General director Jan van Hoogen handed over the baton to his successor Mark Zuidhof. On 16 September 2022, Mark Zuidhof was appointed operational director. Since that time, Zuidhof has formed Agrico’s Statutory Board with Van Hoogen.

Jan van Hoogen stepped down on 1 January 2024 as planned. He has been working for Agrico since 1989, of which more than 10 years as CEO.

After his resignation, he will remain associated with Agrico as an advisor for a few months. In recognition of his involvement and enormous commitment to the cooperative, Jan van Hoogen was also appointed Member of Merit,” according to a recent press release.

Agrico passes the EUR400M mark in sales 

Meanwhile, during the same company’s annual central members’ meeting, Agrico announced that it has passed the EUR400 million (USD 437.8 million) mark in sales, with EUR233m (USD 253.97 million) paid to the members.

During the meeting, the members discussed the financial statements for 2022-2023 and anticipated the upcoming harvest year.

Sales of seed potatoes increased by almost 16%, or EUR34 million (USD 37.2 million), over the prior year. Sales of table potatoes increased by almost +50% or EUR19m.

The volume of seed potatoes increased by 4% and the volume of table potatoes increased by 6%, indicating that the increase is mostly the result of higher costs.

As expected, the subsidiaries performed admirably. Higher sales at a few of our overseas businesses are responsible for the remaining EUR14 million (USD 15.3 million) rise in turnover.

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