Spain: Farmers sell potatoes at the same price as 12 years ago, while supermarkets sell them at double the price.

The shortage of domestic potatoes on the market is taking its toll on consumers. Just days before the first potatoes of the season are harvested, the shelves are filled with foreign produce, and the gap between what is paid in supermarkets and the expected value of the crops is widening.

The latest Food Price Index at Origin and Destination (IPOD) prepared by COAG (Coordinator of Farmers and Ranchers Organizations) places the origin price at €0.39 per kilo and at destination at €1.99 per kilo. The gap was greatest in January, with figures of €0.33 per kilo and €2.02 per kilo, respectively.

The multiplication, which in January was more than six times from land to stores and which in February relaxed to 5.10 times, has registered significant margins in recent times, as reported by the first link in the chain .

For example, in May 2013, the price at origin was the same as it would be in February 2025: €0.39 per kilo; however, 12 years ago, the price at destination was €0.99 per kilo, and now it’s €1.99 per kilo.

"The two biggest losers in the value chain are always the same: the producer and the buyer. I know what producers sell for and what’s in the supermarket; what I don’t know is who inflates it along the way," Alberto Duque, COAG’s potato manager, told El Debate.

With about ten days to go before the first extra-early potatoes can be harvested in Spain, the country’s potato market is offering mostly produce from France, Egypt, and Israel. "We don’t have any stock right now. In 10-15 days, domestic produce will start to become available. The French stockpile and store potatoes, but we don’t. They’ve swallowed up our winter market," explains Duque, who emphasizes the weakness of the negotiation process in the face of the industry’s power: "Our product is perishable. They know this and are using it to suffocate us."

The COAG official points out that two years ago, the cost of production per hectare of potatoes ranged between €11,000 and €12,000. Now, he puts it between €12,000 and €14,000. "Seeds go up, fertilizer goes up, labor goes up too, but if we don’t get paid accordingly, we’re not going anywhere," laments Duque, who points out that producers need stability: "My costs are rising, and one year my potatoes cost €0.10 per kilo and the next €0.50, but the rest of the chain maintains its costs and always increases. Where is the money lost?"

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, the first estimates of the 2025 crop area for tubers show increases of 4.5% and 3.2%, respectively, for extra-early and early potato production compared to the previous season. "In turn, extra-early potato production has seen a 4.5% increase compared to the 2024 season," the Ministry notes, which could lead to lower prices due to increased supply.

"With a cost of €12,000 per hectare, charging 30 cents, I need to harvest at least 50,000 to 60,000 kilos to make a profit and make the work profitable . Of course, the year I harvest 30,000 kilos per hectare, they either pay me a minimum of 45 cents per kilo or I’ll have to eat my snot," says Duque, who concludes that people need to be made aware of the cost of producing quality food made in Spain, "but also that this increase in price in many cases doesn’t reach the primary sector."