The alert was given by the producers: this food, very popular with the French, risks experiencing a shortage soon.
The alert is issued before winter. The prices of a very common food, found in every kitchen, will skyrocket in the coming months. Usually inexpensive, it may even become a much rarer and, above all, more expensive product during the end-of-year holidays. You may have already noticed that the price of your bag of potatoes has increased significantly in recent weeks: 23% on the price per kilo, with an ordinary 2.5 kilo bag which can cost almost 5 euros. However, this is unfortunately only the beginning.
The main reason is simple: the climate. Torrential rains, floods and prolonged gloomy weather have ruined a significant part of the crops. Entire fields in France, Belgium, but also in the Netherlands, strategic regions for European production, have become real swamps, swallowing up the precious potatoes planted under waves of mud. The north of France, a region traditionally producing potatoes, has suffered disastrous weather in recent weeks, with very regular heavy rains which caused flooding, but also and above all real difficulties for potato producers, in the inability to harvest and save their potatoes.
This bad news regarding these future potatoes comes on top of a previous catastrophic harvest, “the worst in the last 30 years” according to the president of the National Union of Potato Producers. Potato production was in free fall in 2022. In France, the land dedicated to their cultivation shrank by 11% in one year, a huge loss in terms of production, with a rapid increase in prices as a result. .
And that’s not all: our European neighbors are facing the same crisis. With declining supply, potato prices on the wholesale market more than doubled, jumping dramatically from 8 to 20 euros per quintal. Production costs are also soaring, partly due to rising energy and fertilizer prices following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Result ? Your usual bag of potatoes could soon weigh a lot more on your budget.
This crisis does not only affect fresh potatoes. All derived products – fries, crisps or purees – will most certainly suffer the same fate in the coming weeks. Prepare for price increases on your supermarket shelves, in restaurants that use a lot of it in all its forms and perhaps even temporary shortages on certain varieties.
