News on Potatoes for processing from Africa

Zimbabwe harvested 100,055 t. of potatoes in the 2025/26 summer season, raising average yields to 29 t/ha. Expanding production to meet winter targets will depend on greater access to certified seed, irrigation, storage, processing, and investment.

World Potato Congress extended the early bird registration deadline for its 2026 congress in Naivasha to 6 July. The event will feature technical tours, including Farmer Field Day, and bring together global potato industry delegates and farmers.

Potato breeders in Kenya are developing new varieties that combine disease resistance with the frying qualities needed for French fries. The work aims to improve yields, strengthen the potato value chain and deliver better fries for consumers daily.

World Potato Congress Inc. will host a June 18 webinar previewing the 13th World Potato Congress in Kenya. The session will highlight the Congress program, field days, technical tours and key industry initiatives ahead of the October event.

Global potato markets face a 'Potato Flood' as production outpaces demand, causing price crashes and farmer losses. Rising output from Europe, Asia, Egypt, Turkey, and new exporters China and India fuels oversupply, worsened by U.S. tariffs on EU fries.

Egypt's fresh potato exports are seeing strong growth, driven by rising demand from Russia, Asia, and the UK. This highlights Egypt's production strength and global market position.

Las exportaciones desde Egipto afectan los mercados Europeos. La temporada 2025 parece no ralentizar la búsqueda del país africano por más y mejores mercados de exportación.

The outbreak of the Red Sea crisis has taken its toll on many Egyptian export campaigns - citrus fruits being the first casualty - but it seems that the potato export campaign is holding up well. 

Yassen Abdelhay, export advisor at Arafa Group, reports on the crucial period for European factories from February to May 2023, and how Egyptian producers played a key role during this phase.

This year is marked by strong demand and insufficient supply of potatoes, a situation that professionals of the industry and media go so far as to call 'the global potato shortage'.

McCain Foods Limited, one of South Africa’s leading frozen food manufacturers, has officially opened its Farm of the Future Africa in Lichtenburg, North West, the second of three locations planned by 2025.

Markies has already become the number one for potato chips in Kenya. Simultaneously Markies is also increasingly demanded by Kenya’s crisping industry. A good example is Norda Industries who favors our Markies variety for their potato crisps.

McCain Foods Limited has unveiled plans for a second Farms of the Future in South Africa, as part of its drive to cut carbon emissions and tackle the impacts of climate change.

In the next two months, Kenyan potatoes will be on the menu of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). This follows an intervention by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) and the American fast food chain.

Major fast-food joints rely on imports from as far as Egypt and South Africa for the potatoes they use for French fries.

Kenya has applied for a Sh656 million grant from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to boost research on potato seed production and cut reliance on imports.

The Wageningen Research Foundation (WR), being subsidised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the context of the Policy Support 'Sustainable agricultural development in a food system approach' published a study on the potato value chain in Morocco.

For the past year, PepsiCo Egypt has been working to empower Egyptian farmers by supporting them through training programs aimed at providing them with stronger technical know-how and other skills to improve efficiency and productivity.