Netherlands: Processors Handle 269,300 t of Potatoes in August; 12-Month Volume Falls to 3.58 Mt
Dutch potato processors handled 269,300 tonnes in August 2026, flat year on year. Imports covered 46.8% of supply, and the 12-month total fell to 3.58 million tonnes from 3.87 million.
Dutch potato processors handled 269,300 tonnes of potatoes in August 2026. The figures come from VAVI, the Dutch association of the potato processing industry. Volume fell by 23,000 tonnes compared with July. Such a summer dip is normal for the sector.
The August result was almost flat year on year. In August 2025, processors handled 268,200 tonnes. At that time, the trade press called it the lowest August volume in a decade.
Imports cover almost half of the raw material
Imported potatoes made up 46.8% of the August volume. This equals about 126,000 tonnes. In July 2026, the import share was only 38.2%. Early-season supply relies heavily on early varieties from southern Germany.
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Output in August included 140,700 tonnes of fries. Other potato products added 22,100 tonnes. Monthly volume was 4% below the five-year average for August of 280,940 tonnes, according to Boerenbusiness.
Twelve-month volume keeps shrinking
From September 2025 to August 2026, processors handled 3.58 million tonnes. In the previous twelve months, the total was 3.87 million tonnes. That is a drop of about 290,000 tonnes, or 7.5%.
Processing yield reached 60.5% in August, according to Boerenbusiness. The outlet calls it the highest figure in ten years. This was unexpected at the end of the old-crop season. Quality of stored potatoes remained good.
Processors kept lines running mainly with stored potatoes from the 2025 crop. They postponed part of the early-season contract deliveries. They also avoided long maintenance stops. Industry sources say some plants still ran a 50/50 mix of old and new crop in mid-September.
Why it matters
The 2026 harvest in north-west Europe is small. Old-crop stocks gave processors a buffer in August. That buffer is now running out. From September, plants depend on the new crop and on imports.
A high import share and a shrinking annual volume show pressure on raw material. Growers with potatoes sold outside contracts may find stronger demand. Processors will watch storage quality and new-crop yields closely in the coming weeks.
Photo: A potato processing plant in Kensington, Prince Edward Island, Canada (not the Netherlands) (illustrative). Quintin Soloviev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
