POTATOES.NEWSGlobal potato industry intelligence2,840 stories
The autumn harvest in Austria is worse than feared, according to the national chamber of agriculture. Potatoes are among the hardest-hit crops, with expected yields 50–70% below the five-year average in some regions.
The French potato trade body has cut the minimum size for potatoes sold for processing into French fries from 50 mm to 45 mm for this season. In Calvados, a maker of crisps and fresh fries says…
Growers on the Åland Islands report lower yields and unusually small potatoes after a dry summer. The local crisps factory, which needs about 30,000 tonnes a year, has found stem rot and tuber rot in some lots.
Seed potato crops in Punjab must be planted by 15 October and have their haulms cut by 31 December, under a new standard procedure. The aim is to protect seed tubers from viruses carried by aphids.
Austria's weekly potato market report says supply remains tight and that continuous supply with domestic table potatoes alone is now considered unrealistic.
Manitoba Agriculture's weekly potato report says digging ranges from not yet started to 40% done across farms, with rain forecast to interrupt the harvest.
Almost 90% of responding companies see a need to move to robust varieties. More than 80% say a new variety has failed for them, and robust potatoes are about 1% of the Belgian field volume.
The potato industry expects about 8 million tonnes in 2026, 6% less than in 2025. The Urals have harvested 294,000 tonnes so far, and retail prices fell by 3.4% in a week.
Following directives from Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk, Egypt's horticultural producers' union and state agencies agreed to survey farmers' seed needs and set up demonstration fields for locally produced seed.
Nicaragua's Ministerio Agropecuario says eight northern municipalities harvested about 6,500 tonnes of potatoes in September, mainly for the domestic market.
During a farm visit in the Mogilev region, the Belarusian president said the country must grow more potatoes and told the government to find sales markets, naming Russia and Uzbekistan.
The Texas A&M AgriLife potato programme has released 14 commercial varieties since 1998, licensed by nearly 150 companies, and is focusing on russets that cope with heat and potato virus Y.
