France’s national potato organisation calls for sales strategies to adapt to account for Europe’s declining acreage and the impact of a summer of heatwaves
Declining acreage and challenging weather conditions are combining to create a shortage of supply for European potato production, with France’s CNIPT calling for the rapid adaptation of purchasing and sales strategies.
The organisation called it “inconceivable” to keep relying on the availability levels or price benchmarks of the previous season. “The market balance is the opposite of what was experienced in 2025/26,” it stated.
Promotions planned long ago were no longer relevant, it argued. “Promotional displays, necessary for enlivening the shelves, must absolutely be based on current market conditions, and not on the fundamentals of the previous season, in order to continue collectively creating the conditions for a fair valuation of the harvest and adequate compensation for all links in the supply chain,” the CNIPT said. “Pragmatism and realism must guide business relationships.”
Following five heatwaves, potato crops continue to suffer from significant water stress, with July reported by Météo France as the hottest month ever recorded in France, and the third driest.
“This situation increases the risk of physiological disorders in the tubers and severely impacts yield potential and crop size,” the CNIPT stated. “Samples taken from fields by the industry currently show, at the same date, yields down by more than 6 tonnes per hectare compared to the multi-year average and by more than 8 tonnes per hectare compared to 2025. The coming days will be crucial.”
At the same time, potato acreage is declining sharply across much of Europe. In France, it is down almost 10 per cent year on year, according to estimates from the UNPT and the CNIPT, with the combined decrease for France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands standing at 11 per cent. The same downward trend has also been recorded in southern Europe.
