Germany: Potato Harvest Forecast Falls 24.8% to 10.4 Million Tonnes
Key takeaways
- 10.4 million tonnes expected, 24.8% below the 2025 crop
- 388.7 dt/ha average yield, down from 459.6 dt/ha in 2025
- 268,300 ha planted, which is 33,500 ha or 11.1% less
- 15.1% higher consumer potato prices than September 2025
Why it matters
- For farmers
- Compare your own yields with the 38.9 t/ha national average before pricing free-buy stock; do not rush sales while supply stays tight.
- For processors
- Plan for less raw material from southern and western Germany and secure northern supply early; check wireworm and size specs at intake.
- For traders
- Expect lower German export availability and stronger internal north-south flows; adjust sourcing and customer commitments now.
60-second summary
Official German statistics now confirm a sharply smaller potato crop for 2026. Destatis puts the harvest at 10.4 million tonnes, a drop of 24.8% from the 13.9 million tonnes lifted a year earlier. Two forces combine here: planted area shrank by 33,500 hectares to 268,300 hectares, and heat plus drought cut the average yield to 388.7 decitonnes per hectare. The damage is uneven, with Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia losing roughly a third or more of their volume, while Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt held up better. For packers and processors in the south and west, this means buying more from northern regions and paying more for it. Retail shoppers already feel the effect, as consumer potato prices run 15.1% above last September, according to the BLE. Traders should also expect fewer export volumes from Germany. The figure remains a preliminary estimate based on early lifting results, and regional numbers come from a trade report rather than the federal release.
Germany expects a potato harvest of 10.4 million tonnes in 2026. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) published the estimate on 24 September. It is based on early lifting results from the official harvest and quality survey.
The forecast is 24.8% lower than the 2025 harvest. Last year, Germany harvested 13.9 million tonnes, according to federal agriculture statistics.
The average yield is estimated at 388.7 decitonnes per hectare, or about 38.9 t/ha. In 2025, the average yield was 459.6 dt/ha.
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Growers planted potatoes on 268,300 hectares this year. That is 33,500 hectares, or 11.1%, less than in 2025. Many farmers cut area after the large 2025 crop pushed prices down.
Strong regional differences
Drought and repeated heatwaves hit the south and west hardest. According to the Dutch market platform Boerenbusiness, Bavaria expects 1.89 million tonnes, 36% less than last year. North Rhine-Westphalia expects 1.79 million tonnes, a fall of 28%.
Lower Saxony remains the largest producing state. Its crop is estimated at 5.1 million tonnes, down from 6.6 million tonnes. Saxony-Anhalt is an exception. Its crop rose 5% to 669,100 tonnes, with yields of 53.5 t/ha, according to the same report.
At the end of August, the market information company AMI had estimated the German crop at 10.6 million tonnes. The new official figure is slightly lower.
Prices and quality
The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) reported in its market report for weeks 38–39 that consumer potato prices were 15.1% higher than in September 2025. Producer prices were largely stable, with no supply pressure.
Regional reports mention small tubers and weak yields in Rhineland-Palatinate. Wireworm damage is raising storage and sorting costs in some areas.
Why it matters
Germany is the largest potato producer in the European Union. A crop of 10.4 million tonnes means less material for processors, packers and exporters in North-West Europe. Southern buyers will depend more on northern supplies, and tight supply is likely to support free-market prices through the storage season.
Photo: A potato harvester on a harvested field in Haßloch, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (illustrative). Georg Slickers / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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What next
Destatis will update the estimate as more lifting results arrive. Final harvest figures are usually published later in the year.
Sources
- Destatis — Ernte Getreide und Kartoffeln 2026 — https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Branchen-Unternehmen/Landwirtschaft-Forstwirtschaft-Fischerei/Feldfruechte-Gruenland/aktuell-erste-schaetzung-getreide.html
- BMEL-Statistik — Kartoffelernte 2025 — https://www.bmel-statistik.de/landwirtschaft/ernte-und-qualitaet/kartoffelernte
- Boerenbusiness — Aanbod Duitse aardappelen krimpt met bijna een kwart — https://www.boerenbusiness.nl/akkerbouw/aardappelen/artikel/10917058/aanbod-duitse-aardappelen-krimpt-met-bijna-een-kwart
- FreshPlaza.de (BLE market report KW 38-39) — https://www.freshplaza.de/article/9876481/inlandische-rodungsmengen-stiegen-weiter-an-sortiment-facherte-sich-auf/
- top agrar — Kleine Kartoffelernte stoppt Preisrückgang (AMI 10.6 Mt) — https://www.topagrar.com/markt/news/kleine-kartoffelernte-stoppt-preisruckgang-20028571.html
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Linked in this material
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- Germany
- Companies
- Destatis; BLE; AMI
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- EuropeHarvestingNews
