Finland: Drought Leaves Åland With Smaller Crisp Potatoes, and Some Lots Show Rot
Key takeaways
- 30,000 t of potatoes a year are needed by the crisps plant
- 70% of that volume comes from local growers in good years
- 2 kinds of rot were found in some lots: stem and tuber rot
- 23 September: date of the harvest report by Ålands Radio
Why it matters
- For farmers
- Inspect lots for rot before storage and assess irrigation costs; the association chairman sees irrigation as the key to stable yields.
- For processors
- Plan for a larger share of potatoes from Sweden and Denmark and for closer quality checks at intake.
60-second summary
On Åland, the dry summer has left crisp potato growers with a smaller harvest of undersized tubers. Their association chairman, who supplies the local Orkla factory, says stable yields will now require irrigation, despite the cost. The company's cultivation manager calls quality acceptable but reports stem rot and tuber rot in several lots; the organism behind the tuber rot was not named. In a normal year island farms deliver roughly seven tenths of the just over 30,000 tonnes the plant processes, and Swedish and Danish potatoes cover the rest. A weaker local crop therefore shifts more purchases abroad. The case matters for processors that depend on one local supply base and for growers weighing an investment in irrigation. The broadcaster's report is the only source so far: no harvest totals or yields were published, and the type of rot was not confirmed.
A dry summer has cut potato yields on the Åland Islands, an autonomous region of Finland. The potatoes are also unusually small. The regional broadcaster Ålands Radio reported this on 23 September.
The chairman of the local potato growers’ association, Jonas Lundberg, grows potatoes under contract for a crisps factory on the islands. According to him, the drought led to lower yields than normal. He said growers need to invest in irrigation to get stable harvests, even though irrigation is expensive.
The cultivation manager of the crisps maker, Ulf Sandelin, said the harvest looks somewhat weaker than last year. According to him, quality is fairly good overall. However, the company has seen some stem rot. It has also found tuber rot in some lots. The report used the Swedish word “brunröta” for this rot. In potato growing, this word usually means the tuber rot caused by late blight. The report did not name the organism.
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The factory belongs to the Nordic food group Orkla. It needs just over 30,000 tonnes of potatoes a year. In a good year, contracted growers on the islands supply about 70% of that volume. The rest comes from Sweden and Denmark. With a smaller local crop, the share bought from outside may rise this season.
The report did not give figures for the total harvest or for the average yield on the islands. It also did not say how many lots were affected by rot.
Why it matters
Åland is a small but specialised potato region, built around one crisps factory. The case shows how a dry season affects a closed supply chain. Local growers lose volume and income, and the processor must buy more from neighbouring countries. The growers’ chairman sees irrigation as the answer, but it requires investment. Rot found at harvest also needs attention before potatoes go into storage.
Photo: Farmland near the village of Mångstekta in Sund, Åland, Finland (illustrative). Håkan Skogsjö / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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What next
No harvest totals or average yields have been published. The type of tuber rot found in some lots was not specified.
Sources
- Ålands Radio, 23 Sep 2026 — https://alandsradio.ax/nyheter/torkan-har-stallt-till-det-for-potatisodlarna
- ONE SOURCE; statements of the growers' association and of the processor (Orkla)
Linked in this material
- Country
- Finland
- Companies
- Orkla
- Sections
- EuropeHarvestingNewsProcessing
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