The small European country of Belgium is the undisputed king of french fries worldwide. In just under 30 years, the sector grew by 1,000%. If it is up to french fries producer Clarebout, the production capacity in the country will be increased by a third, due to the arrival of a new factory. Local protests against this are growing in the question of whether unbridled growth in the potato sector is sustainable in the country.
The British newspaper The Guardian dived into the Belgian french fries world and paints a picture of the incredible growth that potato cultivation and processing have experienced. This growth also has a downside. Potato cultivation is becoming more and more a monoculture and it is mainly the factories that are getting better from growth, not growers. If it is up to Céline Tellier, Minister for Nature & Environment in Wallonia, that is not a sustainable model. Exporting fast food worldwide is not her vision for the future.Potato processing Belgium1000 tons
Two factories
Direct cause for the debate is the arrival of a new factory for the production of frozen fries in the village of Frameries. It is located west of Charleroi, near the French border. With this, Clarebout, the world’s largest frying exporter, wants to grow Belgian production by as much as a third, the Guardian article reports. Incidentally, the company also has plans to build a factory in Dunkirk. The permit for this is in, but on both sides of the border there is protest from local residents. They complain of nuisance from noise and stench. The company would also be poor with its employees, according to opponents.
The arrival of Clarebout was initially received with great cheers in Frameries. The lagging region has a lot of unemployment. A factory that has to create 300 jobs is therefore a nice boost for the place. Meanwhile, that sentiment has changed and people in the area have set up action groups such as ‘La Nature sans Friture’. It opposes not only the arrival of Clarebout, but industrial potato cultivation in general. Farmers are also protesting with local residents, as are NGOs such as Greenpeace and Oxfarm.
Deadline not met
Clarebout had initially planned to start construction of their factory in late 2019 or early 2020, in addition to the storage facilities that have already been built there. Meanwhile, the location is more controversial than ever and it will be a while before there is a factory. Opponents have shifted their protests from mere Clarebout to the cultivation of french fries potatoes in general.
Ten years ago, Belgium took over from the Netherlands in the worldwide french fries production and export. The area grew considerably and exports exploded. No country in the world can supply french fries at such competitive prices. Potato cultivation has traditionally been very strong in Flanders, but over the last twenty years cultivation in Wallonia and northern France has also increased sharply. The large grain farmers saw the yield increase with contract potatoes or rented their land to Belgian or Dutch growers at high prices. What stings the protest organisations is that relatively many plant protection products are used in cultivation. Not sustainable, they judge. In doing so, parallels are drawn – rightly or not – with soy cultivation in South America.
Monster growth
You would think that potato growers are eager to expand the french fries sector. With 2,800 tonnes of finished product per day, Clarebout needs 4,000 tonnes of potatoes a day to run their lines at full capacity. In practice, this is more nuanced, but the reported volume of half a million tonnes annually is still enormous. The company must mainly get it from France, where more room for growth is possible. In addition, there are also hijackers on the coast, because the competitors are also expanding or building new factories. However, cultivation companies have not all benefited from this competition and growth. Although large specialised growers have emerged, cultivation is one of contracts with wafer-thin margins. Especially when extreme weather such as drought and precipitation throw a spanner in the works.
If it is up to the NGOs and local protest groups, ‘fries’ are consumed locally and are not produced industrially and exported worldwide. The sector itself – 90% of which is controlled by six companies – obviously sees this differently. For example, there are many countries in South America and China – but also the United States – that eat far more fries than they can produce. For example, Belgian exports grew by 1,000% in 28 years.Fritesexport Belgium(cumulative until Jan)
Conflict
If the campaigners in Belgium are able to raise the subject broadly, the consequences can also be great for the competitors. Among others, the Dutch Aviko Potato is currently building a new factory in Poperinge, Flanders. Last year, the Flemish government supported this project with €1 million. With an annual processing of 175,000 tons of potatoes, the factory is a bit smaller than Clarebout. Growth is being stretched on both sides of the Belgian-French border. In this way, the ambitions of the agro-industry and concerned citizens are becoming increasingly separate.
