German potato acreage falls back to 2024 levels

The potato acreage in Germany is shrinking by 7.1% this year to 280,400 hectares. This is according to the first estimate from the German statistical office Destatis. German potato growers have, according to the first estimate, planted 21,400 hectares less. That means the crop in Germany is shrinking to just below the level of 2024. In that year, Germany produced a total of 12.7 million tons of potatoes, partly due to above-average yields of 45 tons per hectare. Last year, yields were even slightly higher at 46 tons per hectare. Over the past five years, growers harvested an average of 43.8 tons per hectare. The initial condition of the crops is being assessed slightly better than normal this year by the European Commission's research institute JRC. Slightly above-average harvest For now, the researchers are assuming a yield of 44.3 tons per hectare. On that basis, total production in Germany will come to around 12.4 million tons. Due to the large harvests in the past two years, the multi-year average is 12 million tons. A decline of 5% in potato acreage is expected in Lower Saxony. The sharply disappointing sales of frying potatoes in the 2025/26 season are having a greater impact on potato planting in North Rhine-Westphalia. There the marketing problems are leading to a stronger contraction of around 9% in acreage. To what extent the stronger scaling back of early crops affects the outcomes cannot yet be determined on the basis of the preliminary figures.