Potatoes: the paradox of a catastrophic harvest

None of the potato regions has escaped the thirst. From the north to the south of France, the land is dry and uprooting in September will be more difficult to carry out and the tubers will often be smaller. But let the consumer be reassured, says the interprofession (CNIPT), “he will not run out of potatoes and he will not pay much more for them than in normal times”.

The kilo should be offered at 1.49 euros against 1.42 euros last year. “Enough to feed a family at a more than reasonable price,” says Florence Rossillon, director of the CNIPT. A somewhat paradoxical situation. In fact, not all potatoes have the same experience, nor do all have the same destiny. Half is sold on the shelf, and that half is very largely (85%) irrigated, which means it escapes the worst. The rest is intended for industry or export . France, renowned for its firm-fleshed potatoes, is also the world’s leading exporter of potatoes.

Losses of 200 million euros

Producers are nevertheless extremely worried and fear a “catastrophic” year. According to their first estimates, production drops could reach 20% compared to the average of the last twenty years, or even 50% in the worst cases, according to the Union of Producers (UNPT). It is the combined result of the drought and the heat wave. The potato withstands the very hot weather much less well than the lack of water in July and August. “Neither the precipitation nor the mild temperatures to come will now be able to reverse this trend,” says the UNPT. Producers fear a shortfall of 200 million euros for those of them who do not irrigate.

Some fear that they will not be able to honor their contracts and that “penalties” will be applied. A risk that producers delivering to French manufacturers do not run, because the law provides for “exceptional situations”. On the other hand, contracts not honored with foreign processors could give rise to tense discussions. Those who have already been caught have generally anticipated by sowing more potatoes than they have contracted to have a margin of safety, affirms Bertrand Ouillon the representative of the processors (GIPT).

Industrial outlets

Tereos which is, through its subsidiary Syral Haussimont , one of the players in the starch industry in France, with the Roquette group, warns that it will do “its best to compensate for the loss of production of its cooperators. We have shifted our industrial schedule to give potatoes a chance to enrich themselves in starch. But this will not compensate for the entire drop in yield”, specifies Tereos.

In total, the potato has, beyond the consumption of the unprocessed product, multiple uses. Starch (starch) is also a source of great value, whether in the food industry, which uses it in drinks, sauces, prepared meals or confectionery, or in pharmaceutical laboratories and of the paper industry.