Belgium's potato stock is currently at a 13 percent surplus compared to the five-year average, with 41 percent of the 2023 harvest year's 4.44 million tons of potatoes still undelivered as of April 1. This surplus, primarily stored in Wallonia but with a significant amount of free potatoes in Flanders, is led by the Fontane variety, amidst a backdrop of scarce Bintjes, Challengers, and Innovators. This situation is occurring as the European processing industry's demand for chip potatoes has risen from 11.7 to 15.3 million tons over the last decade among the EU4 countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and France), with an expected need for an additional 2 million tons in the coming two years, according to the new partnership of Belgian research institutions, Viaverda.