Limited decline in French potato area

Statistics service Agreste of the French Ministry of Agriculture sees little reason this month to adjust the estimate of the area of ware potatoes. For now, the service is aiming for a contraction of 5.3%. In April, Agreste announced in a first estimate that the area of ware potatoes in France would fall by 5.2% this year to 182,151 hectares. In the second forecast, this was adjusted to 181,827 hectares. The difference of 324 hectares is limited on this scale. All in all, Agreste is for now sticking to a reduction of ware potato cultivation of 10,272 hectares. This means the crop is declining less strongly than the growth achieved last year. In 2025, French growers expanded the area by 12%, or 20,760 hectares, to a record area of 192,099 hectares. This year's contraction is therefore about half of last year's growth. The contraction is so far smaller than expected. Still, this is not yet a done deal. Last year it also took a long time before the strong area growth became visible in the figures. Initially, Agreste was still aiming for a contraction, after which this was adjusted in May to a slight growth of 0.1%. Only in the count on 1 July did it become clear that the area had increased sharply. Less starch potatoes The estimate of the area of starch potatoes has also changed hardly at all compared with last month's forecast. For now, Agreste is counting on 10,374 hectares of starch potatoes in France. This area is 3.9% smaller than last year. This means this crop is continuing to decline. In 2021, this crop still stood at almost 24,000 hectares in France. In the competition for arable land, the crop lost ground especially in 2024, after which cultivation declined slightly further. Contraction in sugar beet slightly larger Sugar beet cultivation is estimated at around 378,000 hectares. This area is 5% smaller than last year. The contraction is slightly larger than expected a month ago; at that time, a reduction of 4.6% was assumed.