Europe will face shortages and rising potato prices due to heat
Experts predict a sharp decline in potato harvests in key European countries
Quick Look
- Europe will face shortages and rising potato prices due to a summer heat wave that destroyed millions of tons of the crop.
- Losses are estimated at hundreds of millions of euros.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Extreme weather conditions and summer heat have led to significant crop losses in Europe.
Europe will face shortages and rising potato prices due to the summer heat. This development of events was predicted by experts from the non-profit organization Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), reports the Financial Times (FT).
The association of farmers and agricultural cooperatives Copa-Cogeca warned that about 3.1 million tons of potatoes worth between 400 and 620 million euros were lost due to extreme weather conditions. In addition, after last year's record harvest, about 3.6 million tons of potatoes could not be grown.
According to the ECIU, the potato harvest in the main European countries - Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands - could fall from 27.3 million tons to 19.5-20.5 million tons. That would take the region from bumper crops, where farmers threw away unclaimed root crops, gave them away for free, burned them or fed them to livestock, to rock-bottom harvests that would send prices soaring.
In addition to the heat, US import tariffs may also have contributed to the low harvest and increased competition from Asia has also put pressure on European exports of frozen French fries. According to experts, the consequences of the shortage will begin to appear on supermarket shelves by Easter in March.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The consequences of the potato shortage will appear on supermarket shelves by Easter in March.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- How much will potato prices in stores increase?
- Will European countries be able to compensate for the deficit through imports?
