Belgian Farmers Face Potato Surplus Crisis

Belgian farms are overflowing with potatoes that cannot be sold and are valued in some cases at zero euros. The potatoes are industrial potatoes used for products like frozen french fries and often exported. Up to one-third of Belgian industrial potatoes are sold on the free market to large producers, and that market is now stagnant, according to industry reports.

Competition on the export market has become tougher, with China and India emerging as producers of french fries, as noted by trade analysts. Last year, many Belgian farmers had good harvests, contributing to the large surplus, agricultural data shows. The country's farmers are struggling with large quantities of potatoes that risk needing to be thrown away.

5 million kilograms) of potatoes she cannot get rid of. Farmers were asked by the french fry industry several years ago to experiment with new potato varieties, but the result was poorer quality and reduced demand. It can be costly for farmers to clear warehouses of unsellable potatoes; alternatives include using them as animal feed or taking surplus to a biogas plant, but these are expensive processes, farmers say.

This year's potato harvest in Belgium has been unusually large, according to preliminary estimates. Demand for french fries has plummeted in Belgium, local market observers report. In March, a ton of potatoes cost 10 euros; some trade still occurs, but now farmers get nothing paid to get rid of the potatoes, traders indicate.

Large piles of potatoes are rotting in Belgium, as seen in recent field reports. Belgian farmers cannot get rid of their industrial potatoes, exacerbating the crisis. The price of potatoes has dropped to zero in many cases, market data confirms.

The surplus is straining storage facilities and forcing farmers to consider costly disposal options, with no immediate relief in sight.