"As per our long-standing and appreciated custom, a report regarding the 2024 potato production in France and Europe, as well as on consumption trends in Italy, has been published," says Francesca Barbieri, product manager of the Italian company Zanarini agro marketing and consulting, who introduced the publication related to the potato sector.
"It is worth keeping in mind that France is the world's leading exporter of potatoes and that Italy is its second trading partner in terms of purchases, after Spain. But why does Italy import so many French products? France has a high production capacity, also thanks to its geographical position, and can offer a wide range of varieties, which translates into a highly diversified competitive offer of high quality. The 2024 campaign was characterized by a 7% increase in the area under cultivation and yields of between 40 and 50 tons per hectare, with total production of around 7.5 million tons."
"Contrary to the average European trend over the last 10 years, French yields were also characterized by a positive trend this year with +9% compared to the average yield of the last 5 years, +4% compared to the average of the last 10 years and +4.1% compared to 2023.
In this country, the increase in production is mainly linked to the increase in industrial demand. In fact, we see a trend towards the consumption of processed products, which narrows the scope for the consumption of fresh products," continues the manager.
"In 2024, production in the NEPG areas (Belgium, Germany, France, and the Netherlands) reached 24.7 million tons, an increase of 6.9% compared to the previous year. As discussed below, in recent seasons a significant migration of part of the consumption has taken place in favor of the industrial product, which has increasingly taken away the market share of the table product."
"In general, in a market in continuous evolution and with the possibility of increasing the area under cultivation, producers, even if they are tempted to increase the sowing of potatoes (also for the commercial reasons mentioned above), must necessarily take into account the general trend of declining yields, with the consequent increase in production costs per hectare; another serious aspect regarding production challenges is the well-known and increasingly influential climatic changes. Elaterids and the ban on the use of certain active ingredients in Italy are further undermining production at the base," says Barbieri.
"These premises are at the root of the trend of production losses, which in Europe alone resulted in the loss of almost eleven thousand hectares in the last campaign (source: UNAPA). The most worrying trend can be seen in the seed potato sector, where the heavy rains have actually worsened seed production, negatively affecting yields and tuber health, resulting in large quantities going to waste."
"Considering that industrial demand is expected to increase by 70 percent by 2030, it is easy to see the progressive erosion of consumer product areas. The processing industry, even if it does not offer very profitable contracts for production, guarantees volumes and continuity of supply to the supply chain; it goes without saying that many producers prefer to go in this direction, also in view of the fact that the varieties destined for the industry are more rustic, more resistant to phytosanitary problems and tend to be more productive in terms of yield."
"As already mentioned, consumption in Italy is also increasingly moving towards processed products. Nine out of ten Italians buy frozen potatoes; 110,500 tons of frozen products in 2023, +8% compared to 2022 (source: Il Sole 24 ore). Traditionally, the potato is certainly one of the most popular frozen products for its taste and ease of preparation. In general, however, after the significant increase of 8.1% recorded in 2023 (Consumption 2025 report published by Ismea), agri-food expenditure in Italy will continue to grow beyond frozen products in 2024, albeit at a limited rate of +0.9%. While average prices are showing the first signs of a decline, the volume of purchases is increasing for some products."
"In the fruit and vegetable sector, expenditure on fresh and processed vegetables increased by 2.2%, supported by an increase in volumes and average prices. Large retailers continue to be the most important distribution channel, accounting for 40% of the market; discounters also continue their positive trend, while volumes in traditional retail are declining. However, from our point of view, there is and will always be a pocket of consumption for high-quality fresh products.
"It remains crucial for us to be able to create loyal and stable supply chains to meet the needs of consumer product importers. The professional synergy created in France and Italy over the last 10 years is strong and increasingly evident, showing that the activity of potato entrepreneur and producer remains a vocation for specialists in the sector whose knowledge of the reference market is growing."
"The real challenge in the coming years will therefore be to create a loyal purchasing channel between customers and producers. The real differentiating factor will be to be able to build and maintain supply chains with strong and continuous quality content to ensure durability at every link of the agri-food chain," concludes Francesca Barbieri.
For more information:
Francesca Barbieri
Zanarini Srl, Sales Office
+39 335 52 26 716
+39 051 82 61 64
francesca@zanarini.com