France: Ware Potato Price Hits €365/t, Highest in Recent Years, as Imports Rise 25%
Key takeaways
- 365 euros per tonne: French multi-purpose ware broker price
- 25% rise in French imports of storage potatoes in 2025/26
- 6% fall in French potato export volume over the same season
- 4.5% drop in household fresh potato purchases, July-August
Why it matters
- For farmers
- Compare contract terms with the €365/t broker price before selling uncontracted lots; keep stored potatoes in good condition to benefit later in the season.
- For processors
- Budget for higher raw-material costs; the multi-purpose broker price is the highest in recent years and supply from Germany and Belgium is also tight.
- For traders
- Secure import volumes early: imports of storage potatoes rose 25% last season, and the main origins, Germany and Belgium, also have small crops.
60-second summary
The French ware market is signalling scarcity well before shoppers feel it. In its dashboard of 23 September, the interprofessional board CNIPT puts the broker price for multi-purpose potatoes at 365 euros per tonne for weeks 37 and 38, a level it describes as unmatched in recent years. Over the 2025/26 season, imports of storage potatoes grew by a quarter, led by German and Belgian supply, while exports slipped by 6%. On supermarket shelves, however, most categories still cost less than a year ago, and organic potatoes are down 10% to 2.21 euros per kilo. Packers, retailers and importers are the most exposed: they buy at a high producer price but sell into a market that has not yet adjusted, and neighbouring origins also have small crops. The figures rest on a single source, the CNIPT dashboard, and no independent confirmation of the broker price was found.
The price for multi-purpose ware potatoes in France reached €365 per tonne in weeks 37–38 of 2026. The figure comes from broker prices in the monthly dashboard of CNIPT, the French interprofessional potato board. The board says this level is higher than anything seen in recent years.
The dashboard was updated on 23 September 2026. It covers retail sales, wholesale prices and foreign trade.
Imports up, exports down
French imports of storage potatoes rose by 25% over the 2025/26 season to the end of July 2026. Germany and Belgium drove the increase. The data come from French customs.
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Exports fell by 6% in volume over the same season. This is based on French and Belgian customs data. The main destinations were Belgium, Spain and Italy.
Retail prices mostly lower
Household purchases of fresh potatoes fell by 4.5% in volume. This covers the period from 13 July to 9 August 2026, compared with 2025. Purchases of vegetables overall grew by 11% in the same period.
Average retail prices in August 2026 moved as follows, compared with August 2025:
- Potatoes for boiling, steaming and sautéing: €1.77/kg, down 3%.
- Potatoes for baking: €1.50/kg, up 6%.
- Potatoes for fries: €1.47/kg, down 1%.
- Organic potatoes: €2.21/kg, down 10%.
Purchases of processed potato products were stable in July 2026 year on year. They were 6% lower than two years earlier.
At the wholesale stage, the reference price for washed class I potatoes in 10 kg nets was €230 per tonne in July 2026. This price is recorded by the national market news service RNM.
Why it matters
The 2026 crop in north-west Europe is small after heat and drought. NEPG estimates French production at 6.485 million tonnes, down 21.5%, according to Europe Business News. Early broker prices already show the effect of this shortage.
Retail prices have not yet followed the market. A gap between high producer prices and stable shelf prices may put pressure on packers and retailers in the coming months. Higher imports from Germany and Belgium may also be harder to secure, as those countries have small crops too.
Photo: Potatoes for sale at a market in France (illustrative). FrogsLegs71 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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What next
The next CNIPT dashboard will show whether retail prices start to follow the high broker price. Import needs will depend on the final size of the French crop and on supply in Germany and Belgium, which also have small harvests.
Sources
- CNIPT — Tableaux de bord des indicateurs économiques mensuels (août 2026) — https://www.cnipt.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CNIPT-Tableaux_de_bord_Aout_26.pdf
- CNIPT — страница дашбордов — https://www.cnipt.fr/marches-et-etudes/tableau-de-bord/
- Europe Business News (оценка NEPG) — https://europe-business-news.com/17/09/2026/prix-pomme-de-terre-recolte-2026-crise-frites/
- ОДИН ИСТОЧНИК
Linked in this material
- Country
- France
- Companies
- CNIPT; RNM; NEPG
