PRICES FOR PROCESSING POTATOES HAVE PLUNGED BELOW €10, LEAVING LITTLE INTEREST— AN UNEXPECTED CRASH THAT CAUGHT THE INDUSTRY OFF GUARD...
BELGIUM AND NETHERLANDS TAKE A BEATING Looking at the EU-5 (Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany and Poland), sales fell by 1,3% at the start of the year. It is Belgium and the Netherlands that are taking a beating, losing 7% and 12% in volume. France and Poland meanwhile show another picture altogether. They are facing 75% and 98% growth. This is due to the fact that France’s production has increased enormously, with Belgian and Dutch companies fuelling its growth. Poland held favourable cards with a good potato production last season and relatively low sale prices for fries.
The impact has been brutal on free-buy raw potato prices. At the start of 2025 they were still trading above €25 per 100 kg. Prices for processing potatoes have since plunged below €10, with virtually no buying interest. The price crash was unforeseen—even as late as early February, processors were offering high prices to secure supplies. There were already big difference seen among varieties, with some more wanted than others.
Graph 3: DCA EU-4 Potato Index
Potato contract prices were slightly raised for the new season, in a bid from processors to out-compete each other and keep growers growing. With no alternatives offering the same revenue per hectare, growers didn’t disappoint and signed up readily. When the export market was in doldrums, some processors and potato trades quickly anticipated by offloading contract volume among their growers – something that is virtually unheard of.
RECORD NUMBER OF POTATOES IN EU-4 This didn’t prevent EU-4 farmers planting more potatoes. So far, France and Germany have published official preliminary area figures for the 2025 crop, which are both on the rise by 1.4% and 4.8%. We estimate that the EU-4 will see a record area of 795,500 hectares, which is a 3.4% growth, mounting to 26,000 hectares of extra potatoes. This could mean that processors will face a significant surplus in the coming season, unless the export market turns back in to their favour.
EU-4 FARMERS PLANTING MORE POTATOES.
DCA EU-4 Potato Index Source: DCA Market Intelligence
18 | ADMISI - The Ghost In The Machine | Q2 Edition 2025
€ per 100 kg
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