From June 11th to 13th, the Europatat congress was held in Lille, along with the General Meeting of Fedepom. A total of 160 participants from the potato sector (seed producers, traders, sellers) attended this European event. The event was a great success, according to Francisco Moya, managing director of Vitalis and Vitexport, who was elected treasurer of Europatat at the 2025 general meeting. "It was a great event, with two days of very interesting debates and conferences. The first day was devoted to the various committees that exist within Europatat, including the Ware Potato Committee which gave an update on the market situation, a more technical committee dealing with European regulations and the lobbying role of the association, a committee on seeds, a Rucip section, and finally, a sustainable development and communication committee, which discussed the various European programs, especially those between France and Italy and between France, Ireland and Belgium."
"On Thursday, Patrick Baudry, a former fighter pilot and the second French astronaut to go into space, gave an inspiring talk on his experiences. This was followed by round-table discussions and a talk by a researcher from the Pasteur Institute in Lille, who explained the link between potatoes, research, and science. On the last day, there was a tour of the port of Dunkirk and a visit to the Clarebout frozen fry factory."
Update on the upcoming campaign
It is still too early to be certain about the coming season, but a country-by-country view of potato plantings was presented, along with a sales projection for the season. "We will likely see an increase in potato plantings on a global scale. This growth is linked to the fact that potato production is attractive, leading to the recruitment of new growers every year. This attractiveness is partly due to the fact that the potato market is a dynamic one, and one that tends to increase with the growing needs of the sector. However, we must remain cautious, as the figures given so far correspond to a projection of the demand from the processing sector, but there are no certainties. Some producers may tend to anticipate future demand, which for the time being remains hypothetical. We can remain optimistic, but we still need to bear in mind the risk factor associated with favorable yields, which could lead to a production surplus. For the moment, the potatoes have just been planted, so it is premature to make any claims."
Lack of seed potatoes: A point to put into perspective
According to Francisco Moya, the availability of seed potatoes also needs to be put into perspective. "Last year, the sector pointed to a lack of seed potatoes. In the end, however, it was a great campaign, with yields 12% higher than the previous year. There was also a major surge in demand for potatoes from the processing sector, which contributed to the success of the marketing campaign, even though we ended the season with relatively high stocks. Today, the seed potato sector continues to support the needs of the processing sector. It is also faced with a technical and agronomic reality, which is also subject to the vagaries of the weather and the revision of authorized plant protection products. However, given the results of the previous season, the shortage of seed potatoes should be put into perspective."
For more information:
Francisco Moya
Réseau Vitalis
Phone: +33 (0)3 87 92 42 33
[email protected]
https://vitalis-reseau.com/
