Belgium: 53% of production is still in storage.

Assessing stocks currently on the market helps to understand market trends. For the 29th consecutive year, a survey is being conducted by Fiwap, Carah, Inagro, and Viaverda among 208 Belgian potato producers. In Wallonia, 79 farmers responded to the survey, with a representative proportion of the cultivated area for each province (Brabant: 13 farmers; Liège: 10; Namur: 15; Hainaut: 41). In Flanders, the survey contacted 129 producers of ware potatoes.

From harvest until the beginning of April

Across all varieties, approximately 53% of the initial 2025 production remained in Belgian producers’ warehouses as of April 1st ( Table 1 ). This is a higher proportion than in the last five years, which have ranged between 40% and 47%; it was 45% last year…

The last two months have yielded only 13% of initial production, compared to an average of 19% over the previous three seasons. Factory bottlenecks are evident; industrial demand remains clearly lower than available stocks.

Belgian warehouses still contain very little Innovator, a few percent of the initial harvest, and little Bintje and Challenger (around 20% of the initial production). For Challenger, this figure is similar to the five-year average, while Bintje appears to be much more readily available than usual. For Fontane, around 57% of the initial harvest remains in storage, compared to 50% over the last three years. The release of this dominant variety has therefore clearly fallen behind schedule. The "other varieties" segment is not faring any better, with nearly two-thirds of the initial production remaining in storage, compared to 47% to 57% over the last three years.

Overall, nearly three-quarters of current stocks are under contract, a proportion similar to the three-year average, but higher than last year (68%). The initial harvest was already more "committed" than last year (contract/free ratio of 75%/25% compared to 71%/29% for the 2024 harvest).

800,000 tonnes more than last year

According to the survey, there were approximately 2.61 million tonnes (Mt) of storage varieties remaining in Belgian warehouses at the beginning of April ( Figure 1) : this is a historically high stock, 800,000 t more than last year (1.82 Mt), and more than the average of the last three seasons (1.79 Mt)…

However, it’s worth remembering that the initial 2025 harvest was estimated at 4.96 million tons, 890,000 tons higher than the 2024 harvest. Therefore, it seems that more potatoes have been released this year since the harvest. This confirms that a massive amount has been wasted, particularly through alternative channels such as livestock feed, biomethanization, and composting.

Varietal distribution: Fontane constitutes 67% of current stocks. Each of the Bintje, Challenger and Innovator varieties represents 1 to 2%, and other varieties 30%.

Fontane, the majority of the stocks

Belgian stocks at Fontane are estimated at 1.75 million tons at the beginning of April, compared to 1.21 million tons last year, and between 1.10 and 1.25 million tons over the past three seasons. While stock reduction was satisfactory between November and early February (over 500,000 tons), it was rather disappointing in February and March with only 410,000 tons (compared to 430,000 to 610,000 tons over the past three years).

The majority of stock reductions over the past two months have been under contract (nearly 80%), while the free-floating volumes released are minimal (barely 90,000 tonnes over two months). Current stock levels remain under contract at over 70% (1.24 million tonnes), with less than 30% free-floating (approximately 510,000 tonnes).

Regarding the Challengers

Challenger’s estimated stocks at the beginning of April were around 50,000 tonnes (similar to the three-year average), of which approximately 40,000 tonnes were under contract and 10,000 tonnes were unrestricted. There is again a significantly higher volume of contract stock in inventory than last year, demonstrating the difficulty buyers are having in realizing the value of Challenger at the mill.

Initial production was higher than the 2024 and 2025 harvests. Markets have released 60,000 t in the last two months (50,000 t on average in the last three seasons), a volume higher than last year (40,000 t).

Innovator, the only one that arouses the interest of manufacturers

With an estimated 15,000 tonnes, stocks at the beginning of April were extremely low compared to the last three years (30,000 to 40,000 tonnes). Half of the stock is under contract. Initial production (330,000 tonnes) was higher than in all recent years. These figures confirm that Innovator is the only variety that has generated significant interest from processors (both under contract and on the open market).

February and March would have released 80,000 tonnes, much more than in recent years, and comparable to 2023.

Bintje, a decline that continues

At the beginning of April, stocks were estimated at only 20,000 tonnes, significantly lower than in recent years, a sign of the variety’s continued decline. The current Bintje stock is split roughly equally between open market and contracted stocks.

February and March saw an estimated 40,000 tonnes sold (similar to recent years), primarily for peeling, which has become Bintje’s niche market. Given the very small share of Challenger, Innovator, and Bintje in total stocks, caution is advised when analyzing figures for these three varieties.

Other conservation varieties

These are mainly Markies, Agria, Alegria…, as well as varieties for the fresh market (Nicola, Annabelle, Jazzy, Charlotte…) and for the manufacture of chips.

At the beginning of April, stocks of 770,000 tonnes were still present in Belgian warehouses, approximately 300,000 tonnes more than last year and the three-year average. It’s worth noting that the initial 2025 harvest was 200,000 tonnes higher than in 2024… The release of these stocks has therefore been slower and more difficult… The last two months have only released approximately 80,000 tonnes (compared to 140,000 tonnes last year and a three-year average of 110,000 tonnes).

Of the current stock, 160,000 tonnes are unrestricted, representing 21%, a proportion similar to recent years. The last two months have seen the release of only 80,000 tonnes, of which 20,000 tonnes are unrestricted (the "normal" volume) and few are under contract (80,000 tonnes).

Extremely high contracted stocks

Across all varieties, current stocks include over 1.9 million tonnes under contract and 700,000 tonnes available for sale. Contracted volumes were already high in the initial production (over 3.7 million tonnes, or 800,000 tonnes more than last year).

Despite a significant reduction in sales during the autumn and February/March, the current contracted stock remains by far the largest ever recorded ( Figure 2 ). Given the near-zero values ​​on the open market, this stock will constitute the bulk of the 2025 crop income until the end of the season, provided that buyers continue to fulfill their commitments. The free stock volumes (estimated at 700,000 tonnes) are also the highest in the last eight seasons.

A slowdown in February-March

Across all varieties, February and March saw the release of approximately 710,000 tons from Belgian warehouses (around 16,000 tons per working day), 40,000 tons less than last year and 150,000 tons less than projected for 2024. The three-year average is 740,000 tons. This slowdown is evident and confirms the ongoing slump in finished product sales. Export statistics for processed products (available up to January) show no real improvement. However, this season shows a higher total release (since harvest) than last year (+130,000 tons), and identical to the 2023/24 and 2021/22 seasons. The proportion of these released volumes directed to alternative channels (livestock, biomethanization, composting, etc.) is impossible to assess, but it is certainly real and likely consistent since the beginning of the season. The destocking in February-March this year involved barely 150,000 free tons, half as much as in 2025 (300,000 tons).