Gap widens in French potato processing level

The processing of potatoes in France continues to lag behind compared to last year. During March, 6.4% less potatoes were processed in the country compared to February. The amount of free-buy potatoes is still minimal, but more imported potatoes were processed.A total volume of 164,574 tonnes were processed during March, according to industry figures from GIPT. That is 4,417 tonnes – or 6.4% - less than the industry processed during the previous month. During the current processing season, 1,417 million tonnes of potatoes have now been processed. That is only 0.2% less than during the previous season. The French industry continues to be resilient, despite the ongoing potato crisis.More imports French companies purchased more potatoes from other companies during March. A little over 40,000 tonnes were imported, compared to 34,000 in the month before. With only 2,761 tonnes the amount of free-buy potatoes remains marginal. This figure is almost the same as February. A total of 15,000 tonnes of free-buy potatoes has been purchased so far this season. This was 61,000 tonnes during the previous season and 111,000 tonnes during 2023-2024.With an estimated production of 8.54 million tonnes of ware potatoes – 10.4% more than in 2025, there are 892,000 tonnes of potato surplus in the country. This explains why the free-buy market, like elsewhere in Europe, has tumbled into a deep crisis. The industry has absolutely no need for this volume and is struggling to keep up with its contracted volume.First area estimate Calls for a significant decrease in potato area are strong currently all over Europe. According to a first estimate of the French agricultural government body Agreste, the area of ware potatoes will decrease by 5.2% this year. That means a total acreage of a little over 182,000 hectares. If true, this figure is a lot less than the proposed 10% to 15% decrease that has been widely advocated by the industry for this season.These figures have to be approached with some caution. Last year, Agreste estimated that the area would decrease by 1.4%. In the end, it increased by 12.1%. 13% yield drop If this is true, an area of 182,150 hectares would result in a total harvest of 7.435 million tonnes, calculated with the five year average yield. That is still the third highest yield ever, after that of 2024 and 2025 and a 13% decrease compared to last year.