Belgium, the world’s largest exporter of frozen french fries, recorded its biggest potato harvest in eight years thanks to favorable weather — but farmers are now dumping tons of potatoes back into the fields because they cannot sell them. According to The New York Times, spot market prices for processing potatoes in Belgium have remained at €0 per ton for months, down from nearly €600 three years ago. Across Europe, a staggering 5 million tons of surplus potatoes destined for french fries have piled up. In Germany, one of the main potato producers, 4,000 tons were given away for free. Belgian farmer Kris de Haer told NYT that 1,000 tons of potatoes sat stacked 4.5 meters high in his warehouse for months before he was forced to throw them away, suffering a loss of €160,000 on soil, seeds, fertilizer, and labor.
Multiple factors have driven the crisis. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration caused EU frozen fry exports to the US — the second-largest market after the UK — to drop by 8% in one year. Sales to Saudi Arabia, the third-largest market, fell 11% over the same period, and the war with Iran has further disrupted exports to Gulf countries like Qatar and the UAE. The conflict has also driven up energy and fertilizer prices, increasing refrigeration and transport costs, while China, India, and Egypt have flooded the market with cheaper fries. Adding to the woes, rising inflation has led many Europeans to eat out less often, and in the US, one in eight adults now takes GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which reduce cravings for fried and processed foods — including french fries.
