European potato market: production down for 2024

Published Sep 13, 2024

Tridge summary

The European potato sector is facing an 8.8% production drop in 2024, with the harvest expected to be 20.7 million tonnes. This decline is mainly due to adverse weather and increased diseases, particularly impacting Belgium and the Netherlands. Despite a 4-6% rise in cultivation area, overall yields are projected to fall by 4.6%. Conversely, Spain and Portugal have maintained stable production through effective irrigation. Industry experts are cautiously optimistic for the 2024/25 campaign, citing improved storage conditions as a potential market stabilizer.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The European potato sector is bracing for a significant drop in production for 2024. The harvest is forecast to reach 20.7 million tonnes, marking an 8.8% reduction compared to 2023. These figures, based on initial data from North-West European Producers (NEPG) and the European Commission’s August statistics, are revealed by Freshplaza and highlight the impact of adverse weather conditions on crop yields. Weather conditions: a major drag on production One of the main reasons for the decrease in production is attributed to poor weather conditions. Harry Campbell, market analyst at Expana, said that “wet weather conditions and an increase in diseases have had a negative impact on potato growth in the NEPG region”. Although the area under potato cultivation is expected to increase by 4-6% for next year, yields are down. The European Commission estimates that the yield for the 2024 harvest should be 35.1 tonnes per hectare, which represents a decrease of 4.6% compared to 2023. This ...

Source: Agrimaroc