Nieuws uit Europa

Quintera has demonstrated high yields, stable processing quality and resilience under warm, dry conditions after four years of commercial cultivation, making it a strong processing potato variety for irrigated light sandy soils.

Mousline faced a difficult 2025 with lower sales, crop problems, and lost contracts. The French brand is investing €14 million (USD 16.2 million), expanding exports, innovating products, and launching plant-based spreads to drive recovery.

FAM STUMABO will showcase its latest potato processing innovations at Interpom 2026 in Kortrijk, Belgium, from 29 November to 1 December. Highlights include the new SureTec 240P, STUMABO hydrocutting heads and the Dorphy dicer.

Unilever expects no major job losses in the Netherlands after selling its food division to McCormick. The new company will retain a strong Dutch presence, including Rotterdam headquarters and Wageningen research center, supporting around 1,000 jobs.

British Potato Confex 2026 will take place on 18–19 November at Lincolnshire Showground, bringing together growers, suppliers, processors and industry experts for seminars, networking and exhibitions. Free visitor registration is now open.

PotatoNL reported another sharp rise in potato quotations as drought across Europe slowed early potato growth. Strong demand from processors and uncertainty over the new harvest continued to support higher prices.

La cosecha en Salamanca, pese a la buena calidad de las patatas, se perfila con malas perspectivas frente a un mercado deprimido donde los precios no cubren los costos de producción y la demanda flaquea.

DTS and MTS Foods combine process-engineering expertise with regional customer coordination across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Met Éireann has issued a potato blight advisory for parts of Ireland, warning that humid weather could favour the spread of Phytophthora infestans. The advisory also highlights limited spraying opportunities and varying soil moisture deficits

Elea Technology has appointed Vassilis Smoilis as Strategic Business Advisor to support the adoption of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology and expand customer engagement across the food processing industry.

Elea will host PEF Advantage Day 2026 on September 9 in Quakenbrück, Germany, featuring AI-powered PiCon Tools for smarter PEF processing. The free event includes live demos, expert talks, networking, and product testing opportunities.

La campaña de patata en Salamanca comenzó con precios bajos, en algunos casos por debajo de los costes de producción. La alta oferta, la incertidumbre sobre los rendimientos, el calor y el riesgo de alternaria preocupan a los agricultores.

Fruit Attraction 2025 volverá a Madrid del 6 al 8 de octubre con 2.500 expositores y profesionales de 150 países. La patata será el producto estrella y el 5 de octubre se celebrará el I Simposio Internacional de Patata organizado por Fepex.

Emsland Group welcomed Lower Saxony Prime Minister Olaf Lies to its Emlichheim site, where discussions focused on innovation, sustainable production, regional value creation and cooperation between industry, agriculture and policymakers.

Flikweert Vision delivered six upgraded QualityGrader optical sorting machines for a modern onion sorting line. The enhanced platform features improved software, remote service, reliability and sorting performance for efficient grading.

The UK has approved PiperPlus, the first precision-bred disease-resistant Maris Piper potato. Developed by The Sainsbury Laboratory, it resists late blight, PVY and PLRV, reducing fungicide use and supporting more sustainable potato production.

Aviko has installed a fully electric e-boiler at its Lomm factory in the Netherlands. Powered by renewable electricity, it will replace part of the site's natural gas-based steam generation and cut CO₂ emissions by at least 4,800 tonnes a year.

Ukraine has begun building its largest potato processing plant in Cherkasy. The first phase, due by late 2026 or early 2027, will produce 25,000 tonnes of potato flour annually, replacing imports, with future expansion into French fries and exports.