France: Drought Forces Smaller Minimum Size for Fries Potatoes as Normandy Processor Loses Up to 40%
The French potato trade body has cut the minimum size for potatoes sold for processing into French fries from 50 mm to 45 mm for this season. In Calvados, a maker of crisps and fresh fries says the harvest it buys is 30–40% smaller.
The French interprofessional potato committee has lowered the minimum size for potatoes sold for processing into French fries. For the 2026-27 season only, the minimum falls from 50 mm to 45 mm. The board of the committee (cnipt.fr) took the decision on 2 September, according to the farm weekly L’Action Agricole Picarde. The regional news site La Clé Publique reported the measure again on 22 September.
The change comes with conditions. According to the farm weekly, a lot that includes 45 mm tubers must cover a size range of 25 mm, with some tubers reaching 70 mm. Sizes must be spread evenly across the lot. The rules for dry matter, sugar content and frying colour do not change.
In Normandy, the drought is visible at farm level. A processor in Tourville-sur-Odon, in the Calvados department, makes crisps and fresh-cut fries. It usually buys about 14,000 tonnes of potatoes a year from 42 growers on 450 hectares. According to La Clé Publique, its director estimates that the harvested yield is 30–40% lower this year.
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State services confirm the picture. According to the same report, officials of the Calvados prefecture visited farms. They found lower yields, smaller tubers and a later harvest. On 11 September, two areas of the department, the Bessin and the Virois, were still classed as being in drought crisis. The local directorate for agriculture (DDTM) has started to record losses. This could prepare the way for national compensation for farmers without insurance.
At national level, the growers’ union UNPT expects an average yield of 37.4 tonnes per hectare. In 2025 the yield was 43.5 tonnes per hectare. That is a fall of about 14%. Our earlier report on the French national yield forecast was published on 23 September.
Why it matters
A smaller minimum size allows more of the drought crop to go into processing. Trade rules are adjusting to what the fields have produced. At the same time, the limits for dry matter and frying colour stay the same, so quality standards for the final product are kept. Growers and processors will need to check how the new size rule works in their contracts. The rule applies only to the 2026-27 season.
Photo: Potato field in Hendecourt-lès-Cagnicourt, Pas-de-Calais, France (illustrative). Olivier / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
