French free-buy volume reduced to near zero

The French potato processing industry continues to purchase a significant volume of potatoes from outside its own country but, reduced it’s free-buy volume to almost nothing. The total processing volume is 16% lower at the start of this year.138,325 tonnes of potatoes were processed by the French potato industry during January 2026, industry figures from GIPT show. That is 16% less compared to a year ago and 4% less than the volume for December. During the current season, 1.087 million tonnes of potatoes have so far been processed. That is 0.7% more than during the previous season, when 1.079 million tonnes were processed.High importsOf the total volume, 98,158 tonnes came from contracted potatoes. 40,134 tonnes were imported, which is significant, given the current oversupply in the country. However, it is not as strange as it might sound at first glance. Some companies contract potatoes in Belgium, which are processed in France. Simplot-Clarebout in Dunkirque for example. The imported level has only slightly decreased compared to December.Free-buy reduced to near-nothingThe free-buy volume was reduced to 33 tonnes in January. That is unheard of. This season so far, only 7,000 tonnes of free-buy potatoes have been processed. During the season before this was 50,000 tonnes and during 2023-2024 it amounted to almost 100,000 tonnes (on a total of 833,000 tonnes). Last year, during the full season, 1.92 million tonnes were imported. That means there is 833,000 tonnes left to process in the remaining five months (monthly 166,600 tonnes). Quite an achievement for the industry under pressure.