Potato News from Europe

The government says that the reorganization of border controls made it possible to increase physical inspections of agri-food products by 7.5% in one year, strengthening oversight of imports and exports amid growing trade flows.

Growers who can no longer sell their surplus potatoes anywhere now have the option to dump their potatoes on their fields via a raw material declaration. They can register via the website of Boerenbond, which obtained the declaration for all Flemish growers.

Royal Avebe has completed the potato campaign for the 2025 growing year. The potato starch factories in the Netherlands and Germany operated well and steadily during the campaign.

Elea will host an online webinar on April 20, 2026, focused on the application of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology in potato chip processing for the North, Central and South American market.

Zoetermeer - The Dutch Potato Organisation welcomes the National Potato Week initiative, organised by No Waste Army. Additional attention for potatoes fits with the sector's ambitions to stimulate consumption and reduce food waste.

Urschel will debut its Little Gem Aspire Dicer, a new fruit and vegetable cutting system, at major trade shows starting in May 2026, including interpack in Düsseldorf, NRA Show in Chicago, FOOMA in Tokyo and ProPak Asia in Bangkok.

Flikweert Vision has introduced an upgraded QualityGrader for potatoes and onions. The optical sorting machine is now available in working widths of 1.0 and 1.5 meters and processes up to 30 tons of product per hour.

La campaña de patata temprana en España arrancó en el Campo de Cartagena con la variedad Soprano, destacada por su alta calidad y versatilidad, en una muestra de la resiliencia y capacidad competitiva de los productores locales.

New trials in Europe will evaluate genetically modified potatoes with enhanced resistance to diseases such as late blight, aiming to reduce pesticide use and provide evidence for the regulatory debate on new genomic techniques.

GB Potatoes recently discussed risk in its Cutting the odds: Managing risk in potato production webinar. It heard from GB Potatoes chair Alex Godfrey, the CEO and President of Potatoes USA, Blair Richardson and Rory Gibson.

Elea Technology GmbH has released a new video featuring an interview with Tomislav Lukačević, Investment Director at Kanaan d.o.o., Croatia's largest snack products manufacturer.

DKSH has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Limagrain Ingredients, part of the French agricultural co-operative group Limagrain, the European leader of functional flours and a food ingredient specialist.

Processing potato prices in Belgium have dropped to EUR 0 in , while maincrop potatoes fell to EUR 10 per tonne (USD 11) in March, driven by weak demand and ongoing oversupply in the industrial potato market.

All packaging placed on the EU market must be recyclable by 2030, while the industry is calling for more flexible requirements and extended timelines to clear existing stock.

Kent Crisps has announced the launch of new Beef Brisket & Stout Flavour crisps, a mouth-wateringly rich and savoury hand-cooked crisp developed in collaboration with historic Kent Brewer, Shepherd Neame.

EUROPLANT once again demonstrates its innovative strength by consistently translating advanced breeding results into tangible market success. This is based on close collaboration across the entire EUROPLANT Group

Clara Polzer moved from Munich to Friesland this summer for her new position as Head of Breeding Fresh Markets at HZPC Research. During the interview, the German thirty-something already speaks Dutch well.

Breeders Trust warns of rising online sales of uncertified seed potatoes via Facebook groups, where ware potatoes are sold for planting, raising concerns over regulation and plant breeders' rights.