Belgium: Agristo Targets 1.4 Million Tonnes by 2030, Adds Fourth Line at Wielsbeke
Belgian fry maker Agristo says a fourth line at Wielsbeke starts in November, fries production in India follows in 2027 and a US plant in 2029.
Belgian frozen potato processor Agristo says it wants to process 1.4 million tonnes by 2030. The company explained its growth plan in an interview with Line Cabbeke of Agristo, published by the Dutch trade site AGF.nl on 30 September. The key idea, the company says, is to produce closer to both its customers and its potatoes.
According to the company, the plan has several parts:
- Wielsbeke, Belgium: the site now has three production lines. A fourth line will start in November 2026. Agristo says it has the ambition to double the site to six lines.
- India: a new plant is in the commissioning phase. Test runs are planned from September to November 2026. Commercial production of fries should start after the potato harvest of February 2027. The company first produced potato flakes in India to build local knowledge about potato growing.
- France: a new production site for speciality products is coming into operation.
- United States: construction of a plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has started. It should run from 2029.
Agristo says it sells to about 700 customers in 145 countries. The company says it prefers long-term partnerships with customers who value quality, and does not want fast growth in volume at any price. The article did not say whether the 1.4 million tonnes target refers to raw potatoes or to finished products.
Weekdays. Unsubscribe in one click.
The company also said that the difficult growing conditions of this season require extra follow-up. In 2026, heat and drought cut yields and tuber size in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany. Belgian trial digs of the Fontane variety, a key fry variety, show the lowest yields since 2008.
Why it matters
Agristo is one of the large Belgian fry makers, next to companies such as Clarebout, Lutosa and Ecofrost. Belgium is the biggest exporter of frozen fries in the world. A new line in Wielsbeke adds demand for raw potatoes in Flanders at a time when the local crop is small.
The plan also shows a wider trend. European processors are building plants outside Europe, near new potato areas and growing markets such as India and North America. For Belgian growers, this can mean more competition for export customers in the long term. For suppliers of seed, machinery and storage, new plants in India and the United States can open new business.
Photo: Sorting potato strips on a production line (illustrative). SortingExpert / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
