Netherlands: Potato land area at highest level since 2000

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), in 2025, more than 83,000 hectares of consumption potatoes will be grown. That is 8.6 percent more than last year. The last time that the cultivation for consumption potatoes exceeded 80,000 hectares was in 2000.

The total cultivation area for potatoes amounts to more than 164,000 hectares, with the share of consumption potatoes increasing. The share of starch potatoes is decreasing and has shrunk to about a quarter. This fluctuated around 30 percent for years. Half of all potatoes are grown for consumption, the remaining quarter is for seed potatoes.

The total area for arable farming increased by 3.1 percent this year to almost 547,000 hectares. This is comparable to the area of ​​2023. Just like in 2024, a record number of seed onions will be grown this year, with an increase in the area of ​​3.6 percent. The growth is caused by the fact that more red seed onions are being grown. The vast majority of seed onions consist of yellow onions, of which slightly fewer are being grown this year than last year.

Fibre crops

The cultivation area for wheat has recovered somewhat this year, after the historically low cultivation in 2024 due to the wet weather conditions. In 2025, the area has increased again by 16.1 percent. However, the area is still smaller compared to previous years.

The area for fibre crops such as flax and hemp has decreased by 5.2 percent in 2025, after an increase in 2024. However, more flax is being grown again due to the growing demand for linen fibre for the textile market. In contrast, hemp cultivation drops by 16.7 percent to less than 3,000 hectares. The area for sugar beets remains at almost 80,000 hectares, approximately at the level of recent years.