On the European continent, the potato harvests have seen better days. This leads to tense negotiations between farmers, fries and chips manufacturers, and the distribution.
Europe produced 18% less potatoes, after a historically hot and dry summer. Manufacturers found neither the quality nor the quantity they had expected from the farmers with whom they have contracts. Desperate, they have had to supply themselves on the free market, at extremely high prices: up to five times higher than last year (250 to 300 euros [285 to 340 USD] per ton).
France is less affected than its neighbors (-9%). It remains the leading potato exporter in Europe and must supply the northern European countries. Among them is Belgium, the world’s leading supplier of frozen fries. There, the potato production collapsed by 30%. “The supply difficulties will last until the arrival of the first early potatoes at the end of June...Producers will request an increase of the contract price,” explains the manager of Altho, a chips manufacturer in western France.
It is not clear yet whether supermarkets will apply the price increases requested by the brands.
As for the frozen fries, big names like McCain are asking for double-digit increases which large retailers might take on its margins.
For now, the only noticeable consequence of the bad harvest for the consumers is the size of the fries. As announced by McDonald and Burger King, the fries are smaller in 2019.
Source: http://www.rfi.fr