The latest data shows that China is ahead of almost all countries in the world in terms of its rate of growth in processing of this crop.
According to analysts, China, along with India, has come a long way in the potato sector over the past 5 years. If in 2019 these countries were positioned as net importers of potatoes, now they have become net exporters of such products.
It is noteworthy that we are talking mainly about frozen processed potato products, such as French fries. This means that China now occupies an important place in the processing of this crop.
“Both market growth and price increases contributed to the increase in export value, as the costs of growing and processing potatoes have increased significantly worldwide.
This growth was also due to increased imports from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Spain,” says Cindy van Rijswick, fruit and vegetable strategist at RaboResearch.
At the same time, such changes directly affect many European countries, experts note.
Potato processors whose production facilities are located in the EU are finding it difficult to find sufficiently capacious markets for their products.
Not long ago, China was one of these markets, but today we see that this country has not only stopped consuming frozen potatoes in large quantities, but is also beginning to seriously compete with European producers.
At the same time, the potato harvest in Europe this season promises to be quite high. Consequently, there is a high risk that prices for this product will fall significantly.
This may prevent European farmers from not only making a profit, but even compensating for the cost of potato production.
In addition to China, the United States has traditionally been a large market for European products, but President Trump’s trade wars and the duties imposed on both sides make trade between Europeans and Americans significantly less profitable.
Thus, the fact that China is developing potato processing could have a very serious impact on markets around the world, experts believe.
Most likely, China will continue to increase its processing capacity, which could cause even more problems for European suppliers in the foreseeable future.
According to the latest data, potato processing volumes in China from 2019 to 2024 increased by almost 80%, which is a very serious figure.
