During the International Potato Tour (IPT) in India at the Global Potato Summit in Delhi, we interviewed Moustafa Dessouki, Regional Sales Director – MENA at Agristo NV.
Dessouki explains that before COVID, Europe dominated the frozen fries trade thanks to strong competitiveness and low production costs. After the pandemic, inflation and sharply higher energy and production costs changed the economics, creating opportunities for Asia and Egypt to expand processing and take market share—especially across MENA and Asian destinations.
He notes that the competitive landscape keeps shifting, with Europe pushing back into the game as market pressure forces everyone to fight for position. A key benchmark from the interview: global french fries consumption is about 18 million tons. Looking ahead, Agristo’s focus is not only volume, but value-added and specialty fries that differentiate the product and raise the value proposition.
