The Northwestern European Potato Growers (NEPG) organization has issued a stark warning to potato farmers across the region, urging them to assess carefully whether they can afford to maintain their current scale of production. According to their press release, the current economic situation poses severe risks, and unless significant adjustments occur, only the strongest farms will survive.
Based on the final forecast for the EU4 countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France), NEPG predicts a collective potato harvest of 27.2 million tons. This represents a whopping 10% increase over last year and almost 18% above the five-year average. Such massive oversupply has severely dampened buyer interest on free markets, causing prices to vary dramatically between €0.50 and €4 per hundredweight.
Furthermore, for the upcoming season, most potato processors have already announced reductions in both contracted prices and quantities. There seems little prospect of improvement in the short term, prompting NEPG to advise farmers to think hard about whether they can bear the high costs of planting, knowing that returns will be negative if the surplus persists.
Analyzing the causes, NEPG attributes the current glut mainly to a 7% expansion in potato-cultivated areas across the EU4 countries, compounded by early planting seasons and unusually high yields. Adding to the pressure, European french fry producers are facing adverse effects from American tariffs and intensified competition from Asian giants like China and India.
To navigate these uncertain waters, European potato farmers must weigh their options carefully. Scaling back production, exploring new markets, or improving efficiency might offer viable paths forward. Without decisive action, however, many small-to-medium-sized farms risk insolvency in the face of persistently weak market conditions.
