At a time when producers are finalizing their crop rotations for 2026, the National Union of French Potato Producers (UNPT) is calling for caution following the difficult 2025 campaign and "the consequences of an imbalance between production and demand." With almost 8.5 million tons harvested (+13% vs 2024) on 197,000 hectares (+15% vs 2024), the sector has reached a record level of production.
"Growers in extreme or even dramatic situations"
"When preparing the 2025 campaign, UNPT nevertheless drew attention to the risk of an increase in acreage that would be disconnected from real market signals by 2030. The months that followed confirmed this warning. From the spring onwards, the economic situation changed: fewer sales of finished products to major export markets, commercial withdrawals, projects on hold, with European production forecast to rise sharply. With the new harvest, the effect was clear: sluggish demand for processing outside contracts, volumes that were harder to sell, and a price for free grain that collapsed by €5 to €15/t [5.8 to 17.3 USD/t] on certain European quotations, plunging producers into extreme, even dramatic, situations."
There is nothing to suggest that the French or European market will be able to recover
Faced with this economic crisis, there is nothing to suggest that the French or European market will be able to recover in 2026, either for fresh or processed products. It is not production that is lacking, but market opportunities.
"The freedom to produce must not be confused with the freedom to weaken our own working tool"
"In this context, UNPT points out that one hectare of potatoes costs several thousand euros even before the first ton is harvested. Production costs continue to rise year after year. Without a really solid contract that is honored, without a secure outlet in terms of both volume and price, without a controlled storage strategy, and without robust cash flow, this additional hectare can quickly become an economically disruptive factor for the farm. The freedom to produce must not be confused with the freedom to weaken our own work tool and, by extension, the equilibrium of the entire sector."
"There is no such thing as an easy market"
"As we prepare for the 2026 campaign, we need to be clear-headed, both individually and collectively. There is no such thing as an easy market. Only the real market can guide our decisions. It is not a question of giving up on potatoes, but of seeing it for what it is: a demanding, risky, capital-intensive crop, whose profitability depends on a solvent, coherent market."
For more information:
UNPT
45 rue de Naples, 75008 PARIS
Phone: +33 (0) 1 44 69 42 45
[email protected]
