Strong start to new processing season for French industry

Potato processors in France have had a good start to the new potato season 2026/27 this summer. The amount of potatoes that were processed is 2.7% higher compared to last year. Mainly because more French potatoes were processed. The amount of imported and free-buy potatoes continues to be small. During the first two months of the new season, 308,000 tonnes of potatoes have been processed by French factories. That is 8,000 tonnes or 2.7% more compared to July and August last year and 17% more compared to the 2024/25 season. The higher start is due to a large volume of potatoes being processed in July. The amount was 11% higher compared to the same month last year, with 144,642 tonnes. In August, 163,085 tonnes were processed. Albeit more than July, it is 4% less compared to last year. Little free-buy 241,000 tonnes of potatoes were of French origin. Only 6,000 tonnes of free-buy potatoes were processed by the industry in the first two months. That is remarkable considering the fact that there was an estimated surplus of over 1 million tonnes in the country at the start of the season, after the big harvest last year. French and Belgian processors took advantage of this when, after a record dry and hot summer, there was a much smaller crop of early potatoes available. The import of potatoes, mainly from Belgium, was also 30% lower compared to the previous season, at 61,000 tonnes. This has much to do with the reduced potato area and small availability of potatoes this summer. New record The French processing sector reached a new record of 1,938 million tonnes of potatoes processed during the 2025-2026 season. This is 19,000 tonnes more compared to the season before. A 1% increase. Considering the difficult season it has been, France is continuing to break the trend. The export of fries is the only one within the EU-5 that is still increasing. This is partly due to the large increases in processing capacity in Northern France.