News on The Potato Supply Chain

PotatoEurope 2025 set records with 17,268 visitors from 107 countries on Sept 3-4 in Lelystad, Netherlands. Live demos, trial fields, and top innovations like Croptimal’s Croptiscan 9000 highlighted the event. Next edition: Sept 9-10, 2026, Germany.

P.E.I. potato farmers face major crop losses as drought grips the island. With only 10% irrigated land, yields are falling below average. Farmers like Andrew Lawless expect 30% losses, warning climate change demands urgent investment in irrigation.

Both Sichuan’s potato production area and total yield remain among the largest in China. The province’s unique geographic features support year-round planting and supply, delivering strong economic and social benefits.

Renaissance BioScience Corp. secured an Australian patent on Sept 4, 2025, for its yeast-based RNA platform, targeting the Colorado Potato Beetle with eco-friendly biopesticides. It also eyes animal and human health markets.

Las exportaciones de papa marroquí repuntaron en 2025 con 42.900 toneladas, impulsadas por la reapertura de África Occidental y mayores compras de España, Francia, Portugal y varios países africanos, aunque aún lejos de los niveles récord de 2018/19.

El gobierno de Colombia lanzó un plan de apoyo para pequeños productores de papa en Nariño, que incluye compra pública a precio justo y apertura de nuevos mercados para enfrentar la crisis generada por el contrabando y los bajos precios.

En 2025, la superficie sembrada de papa en EE. UU. cayó a su nivel más bajo en más de 70 años, con 369.000 hectáreas, aunque los altos rendimientos previstos mitigarán el impacto en la producción total.

La campaña europea de patata 2025 arranca con mercados saturados, precios en mínimos históricos y una industria debilitada, lo que pone en riesgo la sostenibilidad del sector y exige priorizar calidad, cumplimiento de contratos y cooperación en toda la cadena.

The James Hutton Institute introduced two PCN-resistant potato varieties, Malaika and Glen, in Kenya. Developed with international partners, they boost yields, support food security, and meet local farmers’ needs for fast-cooking, low-dormancy potatoes.

PotatoEurope 2025 takes place 3–4 Sept. at WUR Lelystad with 300+ exhibitors & visitors from 119 countries. Highlights: trial harvests, ICM & market conferences, live demos from harvest to sorting, and innovation test fields.

Branston potato growers gathered in Lincolnshire to explore new varieties, including a nutty salad potato and Inca Rosa, aimed at supermarkets by 2026. The field walk showcased trials, yields, and innovations, with Tesco also backing the development.

Allround Vegetable Processing leads India’s pre-processing sector with modular machinery, e-Gate IoT cold storage, AI-driven R&D, and expanding plants, reducing waste, boosting yields, and delivering European innovation for Indian conditions.

Potato growers are urged to watch for the Colorado beetle, a pest threatening UK crops. Spot yellow-cream beetles with black stripes or red larvae. Report sightings with photos to APHA or the Scottish Government to protect biosecurity.

Last week marked the start of the 2025 potato starch campaign at Aebe. Over the coming months, potatoes will be delivered six days a week to Royal Avebe’s factories

United States retail sales of potatoes maintained strong volume over the nine months from July 2024 to March 2025. Despite a small (-0.5%) drop in dollar sales to USD 14.72 billion

The first container of locally grown potatoes produced by Lamb Weston will soon depart from the port of Mar del Plata bound for Brazil, marking a milestone for both the company and the region.

Beirut Erbil Company welcomed Bulgarian Consul Vasil Vasilev, Dr. Trifon Iliev, and a delegation who praised its potato chips plant, warehouses, quality labs, and discussed future Iraq-Bulgaria trade and investment opportunities.

Following the successful introduction of the Spirit 9200i in 2024, AVR is now launching the Spirit 9200i VW: all the strengths of AVR’s most recent trailed harvester, completed with the patented Varioweb cleaning system.