Spain: Fears over the abundant entry of old French potatoes into the new Spanish harvest.

Potato production in Spain traditionally begins in Andalusia, where this year, due to a series of storms, planting has been delayed and reduced by 5%, covering approximately 10,000 fewer hectares. However, a higher yield is expected compared to 2025, according to Marco Román, president of the potato sector of the employers’ association Asociafruit, who spoke with Efeagro.

Currently, a large part of the extra-early potato crop has already been harvested in Málaga, while the new potato harvest in Andalusia could finish between early and mid-July. Román expressed concern about a specific problem: competition on store shelves from potatoes of the 2025 French season, which have been stored for months in cold storage.

Regarding old potatoes, the leader emphasized that French potatoes, which currently represent 80% of the Spanish market, contain acrylamide levels when fried that exceed the limits recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). These concentrations are associated with an increased risk of developing cancer. Román described this practice as unacceptable, stating that these potatoes "should be used for livestock feed," as in his opinion, they are of low quality. He also denounced the fact that they are sold at the same price as new potatoes, with the sole aim of generating profit at the expense of the consumer.

On the other hand, the 2023 edition of the Fruit Attraction trade fair, which will take place in Madrid in October, will feature the potato as its star product. This recognition was promoted by Asociafruit to highlight the importance of the third most consumed food crop worldwide, after rice and wheat.

Along these lines, Alberto Duque, head of the potato sector at COAG, agreed with Román on the need to promote campaigns that highlight the characteristics of Spanish potatoes compared to imported ones. He also emphasized the importance of clearly identifying the product’s origin on the label to provide transparent information to consumers.

Regarding Castile and León, the country’s main producing region, a 10% reduction in planted area is estimated compared to the 50,000 hectares planted in 2025. Duque explained that, given the higher profitability of early plantings, the purchase and planting of seeds has accelerated since the beginning of April. This could lead to an overlap between the harvests of this autonomous community and those of regions such as Andalusia, Cartagena (Murcia), and Valencia around June and July.

For his part, Duque warned of the growing difficulties stemming from the rising cost of both fertilizers and fuel due to the conflict in the Middle East. He stated that this "wild" increase could jeopardize competitiveness against foreign production next year.

From Asaja, Juan Company shared his concern about the economic impact of these increases. As an example, he mentioned the increases recorded in May alone compared to 2025: agricultural diesel by 51%, urea by 26%, ammonium nitrate by 38%, and granulated ammonium sulfate by 50%. These figures reflect increasing pressure on producers.

Finally, Ignacio Huertas, Secretary of Agriculture for UPA, highlighted the accelerated progress in planting in Castile and León and did not rule out overlaps with harvests in other regions due to the uneven development of the crop. In this same region, a reduction in the planted area of ​​between 10% and 15% is expected compared to 2025 figures. According to UPA, one of the key factors was the price collapse that year due to massive imports of old potatoes from France.

Given this situation, Huertas reiterated the importance of implementing transparent labeling for the origin of potatoes sold in bulk and advocated for promotional campaigns to enhance the value of Spanish potatoes in Europe. He also stressed the need to promote packaging formats that allow consumers to clearly identify the origin of the product they are purchasing.