NEPG expects a quarter fewer potatoes in EU-4

The potato harvest in the four main growing countries of Northwestern Europe is expected to be 25% smaller this year than in 2025. NEPG estimates production of ware potatoes in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France at 20.7 million tonnes. Especially in Belgium and France, heat and drought have hit yields hard. In addition, the potatoes are on average smaller and shorter, which could make it difficult for growers to meet their contract obligations. The North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) emphasizes that these are preliminary figures. A large part of the potatoes is still in the ground and on some plots some growth is still possible. Nevertheless, NEPG expects the 2026 harvest to be one of the smallest of the past ten years. This is due to a combination of a significantly smaller area and disappointing yields per hectare. In the four NEPG countries, 521,500 hectares of ware potatoes were planted this spring. That is 82,700 hectares, or 13.7%, less than the more than 604,000 hectares last year. Production a quarter smaller Production is provisionally estimated at 20.70 million tonnes, compared with 27.75 million tonnes last year. That means the harvest is 25.4% smaller. Compared with the five-year average of almost 24 million tonnes, the shortfall is about 14%. Belgium stands out. There, NEPG expects production of 3.43 million tonnes. That is more than 35% less than the record harvest of 5.30 million tonnes in 2025 and 23% below the five-year average. In France, 6.49 million tonnes are expected, a decrease of 21.5%. Germany is expected to reach 7.55 million tonnes, 24% lower. For the Netherlands, a harvest of 3.23 million tonnes is forecast, almost 24% less than last year. It is not only the area that is smaller. On average, NEPG expects a yield of 40.5 tonnes per hectare. Last year that was still 47 tonnes and the five-year average is 44.7 tonnes. Especially Belgium and France are lagging behind with 38.5 and 37.4 tonnes per hectare respectively. Germany is estimated at 40 tonnes. The Netherlands, with 46 tonnes per hectare, is the exception and is therefore almost at the five-year average.