PROCESSED POTATOES IN EU WORTH EUR10B IN 2014

Processed potatoes (mainly frozen chips and crisps) were worth EUR10b or 1.2% of the overall value of EU food and beverage industry output in 2014, while processing is concentrated in five countries, according to Eurostat. 

With shares of 44.0% and 38.8%, frozen chips and crisps were the most important products in terms of value of production.

Potatoes are processed into four main types of product:

–          frozen potatoes,

–          dried potatoes,

–          prepared or preserved potatoes,

–          potato starch.

The EU was a net exporter of processed potatoes, with imports representing a mere 1.9% of the value of its own output. On average, the value of exports represented 12.6% of the value of production, although this includes figures of 39.9% in the case of potato starch and 30.8% for dried potatoes (flour, meal flakes, granules and pellets).

Potato processing took place mainly in five countries:

–          the Netherlands,

–          Belgium,

–          the United Kingdom,

–          France and

–          Germany.

Italy was the leading country for frozen potatoes (uncooked or cooked by steaming or in boiling water), with a share of 63 % in value terms.

For reasons of data confidentiality, it is not possible to produce a single ranking, but a degree of specialization could be observed across countries: Germany was most active in producing dried potatoes (65.9% in value); the Netherlands (43.6 %) and Belgium (21.4 %) were the leading producers of frozen chips, while the United Kingdom registered the largest value share of crisp production (20.9%) followed by Germany (18.3%).