Unusually high temperatures in Europe this summer will lead to a shortage of potatoes, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing the British think tank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
The extreme heat has reduced the potato harvest by 3.1 million tons, representing a loss of between EUR 400 million and EUR 620 million. In addition, approximately 3.6 million tons of potatoes will not be grown in 2026, after the record harvest in 2025.
Potato production in the main potato-producing countries in Europe - Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands - will fall in 2026 from a record 27.3 million tonnes in 2025 to 19.5-20.5 million tonnes.
France, for example, is reporting its lowest harvest in 30 years, with the exception of 2022, when the country experienced a severe drought.
“As potatoes are a particularly water-intensive crop, it was inevitable that the harvest would be severely affected and we are now starting to see this in yield estimates across the industry – in some cases they have fallen by 20%”, said ECIU analyst Tom Lancaster. “For potato growers, who are on the front line of climate change, the situation is really dire”, he added.