According to Belgapom, the Belgian sector federation, the price of potatoes intended for industrial processing has fallen to €0 per tonne. Maincrop potatoes, grown for long-term storage, have seen their value drop for months due to weak demand, reaching €10 per tonne in March before effectively collapsing. In recent weeks, no price was set at all due to a lack of trade. Christophe Vermeulen, CEO of Belgapom, stated that farmers have sold their potatoes at zero euros, adding that anything is better than plowing them back into the ground or destroying them. Many growers are now left with surpluses amounting to several hundred thousand tonnes, even though the maincrop season still has months to go.
Major chip producers already hold sufficient stock, while global market competition is intensifying. Alternatives such as processing the surplus into animal feed or biofuels remain limited. Retail prices are unlikely to be affected, as the crisis concerns only industrial-grade potatoes used for frozen chips; table potatoes for direct consumption still command higher prices. Last month, overcapacity forced Clarebout Potatoes to implement temporary unemployment, while Lutosa canceled weekend work, highlighting the severity of the market imbalance.
