Fries market continues to grow, but Europe profits less

More French fries were consumed during 2025 across the globe. The 13 major exporting countries shipped 0.8% more produce to countries outside of their local markets. It’s mainly Europe and the US that have seen their market share fall. The first region exported 7.5% less fries. The North American industry saw it’s export figures remain stable. The total world export of frozen fries during 2025 amounts to 4.81 million tonnes. This is outside of the local markets and 38,700 tonnes more than the export level of 2024. This is the largest export volume of frozen fries ever, which has shown an increase in volume for 19 out of the last 20 years. Only during the covid pandemic in 2020 we saw a decrease in exports.7.5% less European export The EU remains the biggest exporter of frozen fries, with 2.59 million tonnes exported during the previous calendar year. The EU-4 + Poland are responsible for most of this volume. That is is 7.5% less compared to 2024, which is a fallback of 210,900 tonnes. The EU captured almost 54% of the global trade, compared to almost 59% during 2025 and 62% in 2023.Belgian out-of-EU exports dropped 14.7% and those of the Netherlands were 5.9% lower compared to a year ago. Germany exported 13% less products. Poland’s exports increased marginally; by 1.2%. France is the only real exception, with a growth rate of 40% y-o-y. This has everything to do with the increased production capacity and rerouting of Belgian potatoes and fries to French plants and ports.North America It’s a tale of two stories in North America. The US export volume dropped by 5.4% y-o-y, to 780.100 tonnes. Canadian exports meanwhile reached a new record of 227.703 tonnes. The two countries together captured a fifth of the world fries export. Their market share has been stable for three years in a row.All other countries combined exported a total of 1.21 million tonnes of frozen fries during 2024, outside of their local markets. This is over a quarter more compared to 2024. Six countries are dominant: China, India, Egypt, Argentina, Turkey and New Zealand. This sextet captured 25.2% of the market, with the remaining 0.8% for other fries exporting nations.Increasing market shares The influence of these upcoming countries has been steadily increasing during the last three years. The total market share increased from 17.3% in 2023 and 20% in 2024 to the current level of a little over a quarter. China is the biggest motor behind this growth, hitting a new record in 2025. The country exported 378,000 tonnes outside of their local markets (+92.2%), making it one of the biggest exporting countries worldwide.India is another strong contender, increasing it’s export level by 50% to 258.500 tonnes. The country is only surpassed by Egypt, which exported an estimated 262.600 tonnes in 2025. This is however a 9% decrease compared to 2024.Higher global trade in Q4 Q4 has been a good quarter for exporters of fries, although the difference between the established exporting countries and emerging markets is also visible here. World trade reached 1.21 million tonnes during October, November and December. This is 3% more compared to the same quarter last year. Seven of the thirteen biggest fries exporters saw increased figures during this quarter.EU exporters saw their total volume drop by 7%, mainly due to slow sales at the start of the quarter. Belgium saw the biggest reduction (11.6%) and Dutch sales remained almost flat at 1.5%. France sold 7% less fries and Germany 1.5% less. Poland managed 4% more sales.North American shippers managed to export 2% more during the quarter, mainly due to Canada. The country exported 40% more frozen fries (62.100 tonnes) during Q4. India saw it’s export level increase by 54% and China managed to ship 68% more produce.Middle East imports more Countries in the Middle East region imported 90,700 tonnes of frozen fries during Q4 which is 20.5% more than a year ago. Mainly because the United Arab Emirates imported significantly more fries. EU exporters captured almost half of this volume, which is less than a year ago. Egypt captured almost a quarter and India and China took 11.5% and 7% of this volume.