News on Potato Varieties and Seed from Europe

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.

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.

Seed potato areas in Western Europe reached 106,864 ha in 2025, up 9,297 ha (+9.53%) from 2024. Netherlands, France and Germany account for 80%. Growth is led by processing and export varieties, confirming their strategic role.

Potato Professionals in the United Kingdom gathered for the annual Potatoes in Practice (PiP)event, hosted by the National Potato Innovation Centre (NPIC), in partnership with SRUC and Agrii, at The James Hutton Institute’s Baldruddery Farm.

IFCG-Egypt will be participating as an exhibitor at the Anuga Food Trade Show 2025, one of the world’s most influential platforms for food innovation and global sourcing. They will showcase the latest generation of frozen sweet potato fries.

The European Investment Bank has signed a EUR 20 million venture debt financing agreement with Dutch biotechnology company Solynta, to accelerate the development of potato varieties with enhanced resistance to disease and resilience to climate change

PotatoEurope 2025, set for 3–4 Sept in Lelystad, Netherlands, showcases live machinery demos, smart agri-tech, and innovations in potato farming. With 300+ exhibitors and 15,000 visitors, it’s the premier hub to innovate, network, and grow.

In 2025, over 83 thousand hectares of ware potatoes will be grown in The Netherlands. This is 8.6 percent more than last year. The last time the cultivation area of ​​ware potatoes exceeded 80 thousand hectares was in 2000.

Europatat Congress 2025 in Lille brought together Europe’s potato leaders to tackle challenges like climate change, shifting consumption, and global trade. With optimism, speakers stressed innovation, sustainability, and adapting to consumer demands.

Groupe Florimond Desprez (GFD) acquired DLF’s 49% stake in Danespo A/S, becoming majority owner. The move strengthens GFD’s seed potato business, aligning Danespo and Germicopa under shared leadership and future investments.

Se trata de un cultivo que puede rastrear su origen genético ininterrumpido al Peru del siglo XVII. Hoy, debido a las inclemencias del tiempo y la desprotección económica, su continuidad se encuentra en jaque.

Potatoes in Practice, the UK’s biggest field potato event, is on 7 August at Balruddery Farm. Hosted by James Hutton Institute, it brings growers, researchers, and industry leaders together to share innovations and advance the potato sector.

At PotatoEurope 2025, fifteen top companies will showcase trials on potato cultivation, with 309 exhibitors and 15,000 visitors expected. The event highlights innovation, demos, and global networking across the potato value chain.

GB Potatoes has joined HCP to secure vital crop protection authorisations for the UK seed potato sector, using AHDB levy funds. A new technical group will prioritise needs, ensuring sustainable, high-quality seed and ware potato production.

Scientists, led by Dr Rob Hancock, Deputy Director of the Hutton’s Advanced Plant Growth Centre, have been working as part of a European consortium to develop tools for the development of multi-stress tolerant potatoes

By mid-March, Hans Huistra, CEO of the Royal HZPC Group, had done a good deal of driving on Dutch highways. He rushed from meeting to meeting, sharing the good news that last season's average prices will be historically high with affiliated seed potato growers.

The potato feeds over a billion people but faces disease and limited diversity. Investing in research, breeding, and farmer support is vital to improve resilience and productivity, ensuring it remains a key staple for global food security.