Belgium: The kingdom of fries

"Even if the processing capacities of Belgian factories are now growing a little less quickly, 6.2 Mt of potatoes were still processed by manufacturers in 2023, compared to 1.6 Mt in 2001. And it increases every year. Less quickly than in the past, but it still increases!" This is the observation made by Pierre Lebrun, director of Fiwap , the interprofessional organization that brings together plants, consumption, trade, industry and research in the Walloon part of Belgium. 

For him, the factories are not saturated. The planted areas have also increased by 6.4% in Belgium in 2024 compared to 2023, by 7.2% in the NEPG zone according to the latest figures from December 2024. Belgium is even close to 100,000 ha of conservation potatoes, 99,560 ha precisely, compared to 60,000 in 2001.

No more space in Belgium

Despite this increase in surface areas, the 2024 harvest stagnates at 4.26 Mt (- 1%), while it increases by 6.9% in the NEPG zone, to 24.56 Mt, driven by Germany (+ 8.9%) and especially France (+ 12.2%).

"Agronomically, there is no more room in Belgium. The territory must be considered saturated if an ideal rotation of at least five years is to be respected. However, it is most often four, sometimes less. Fiwap is campaigning for the three-year minimum set out in the law to be respected, but the prices of beets, announced to be lower than those of last year, and the high variability of cereal prices do not help us."

Potatoes have generally paid well since 2022, but some producers have nevertheless experienced very difficult situations. The climatic conditions have not been easy. The abundant rains of 2023 meant that 8% of the surface area had to be left in the ground at the end of the year. For 2024, plantings were delayed by more than a month. In the autumn, when 30 to 70 mm had fallen in two days in mid-October, at the end of November, everything had finally been pulled out, but farmers had to force it, damaging the soil. 

"Despite these difficulties, for the past two years, those who have harvested and stored everything have benefited from high prices, above €400/t from week 19 in May, and up to €500/t for the Fontane variety. As a result, land rentals, in Belgium or France, and investments in storage buildings are numerous. Controlling production costs remains a major challenge, however. Labor, land rental, plants, inputs and energy weigh more heavily on operating accounts year after year."

Varieties susceptible to mildew

Fontane, Innovator, Challenger, Markies and Bintje cover 90% of Belgian surfaces. Fontane alone represents 55%. "All these varieties are sensitive to mildew ," notes Pierre Lebrun. "The risk of resistance to certain active ingredients is now proven. In addition, this lack of varietal diversity leads to a gradual decline in yields and the emergence of pests. We need to change course , that’s obvious! However, even if phytosanitary protection is expensive, both financially and environmentally, manufacturers continue to put processing yield and technological quality (color, length, etc.) as the primary criteria for varietal choice. Gradually, things are starting to change. Ecological issues are making the sector think."

Fiwap, research institutes and plant houses are in fact looking for more robust varieties . Three Belgian varieties are currently registered in the catalogue. "But nothing is simple. Louisa, for example, a chip variety, has had some success, but its resistance to mildew has unfortunately not held up."

Belgium is also very dependent on the import of plants (314,000 t imported in 2023). However, it experienced a rebound in production between 2023 and 2024, increasing from 2,000 ha to 2,500 ha. "These additional hectares of plants are most likely industrial varieties... with probably in parallel a development of farm plants, a practice strictly regulated by the AFSCA, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain." During the signing, on November 24 on Interpom, of the new version of the Code of Good Practice (see box), Christophe Vermeulen (Belgapom) and Jean-Pierre Van Puymbrouck (FWA) also highlighted this dependence and pleaded in favor of the promotion of Belgian plants and their wish to make it a priority for Belpotato.be.

Pierre Lebrun also does not forget the role of the trade, a very important player in terms of volume. "It allows production to be federated, brings a dynamic in varietal choice, and contributes to the development of the Belgian potato sector."

Benchmarks: Belgium in figures

- 4.26 Mt of potatoes produced in 2024, at least 85% used by industry. - 99,560 ha cultivated in 2024, including 5,000 to 10,000 ha for the fresh market. - 90% of the surface area is covered by Fontane (55%), Innovator, Challenger, Markies (5 to 10% each) and Bintje (5%). - 2,500 ha of plants. - 6.2 Mt of potatoes used by factories in 2023. - 3.8 Mt of processed products manufactured, including 2.92 Mt of frozen fries and 80,000 t of crisps. - €4 billion in turnover for 19 Belgian processing companies. - 19 industrialists (including, in order of potato requirements, Clarebout/Mydibel, Lutosa McCain group, Agristo, Aviko, Farm Frites, Ecofrost, Remo, etc.) employ more than 6,000 people.

Belpotato.be: a revised Code of Good Contractual Practices

Fiwap is an interprofessional organization that brings together the plant, consumption (fresh and industry), trade, industry and research of the Walloon part of Belgium. At the national level, Belgapom brings together trade and industry. It defends the interests of these operators. With the three general-purpose agricultural unions (Boerenbond, ABS and FWA), Fiwap and Belgapom created Belpotato.be in 2020. An interprofessional organization (OIP), this structure is recognized by the two Belgian regions. It brings together production, industry and trade through its member organizations. It is the standard-bearer of the Belgian potato sector vis-à-vis national and European authorities

. At the Belgian Interpom trade fair, version 2.0 of the Code of Good Contractual Practice in the Belgian Potato Sector was signed, after three years of tough discussions, by the five members of Belpotato.be. This new version improves contractual relations between producers and buyers (trade and industry), particularly in terms of transfer of ownership, transfer of risks in the event of a delivery delay or counter-analysis in the event of disputed quality. It also extends a series of measures to transactions made on the free market.

In terms of non-compliance with the contract, the sector will continue discussions on the principle of "unforeseeability" when discussions on force majeure lead to an impasse

. This industry agreement, the first version of which took thirty-five years to reach, is now cited as an example by politicians.