French fries in free fall – potatoes for free in Belgium

Isak Fritzon

Published 2026-04-10 21.24

 

Farmers are sitting on giant stocks of potatoes.

In the country that is said to have invented fries, no one wants potatoes.

Now the price is down to zero kronor.

– The potatoes are worthless, says farmer Marlutje Jackers to VRT.

Quick version

• Belgium has an unusually large potato harvest at the same time as the demand for French fries has decreased significantly.
• In March, a ton of potatoes cost 10 euros, but now the potatoes are worthless and farmers are not paid anything.
• Farmer Marlutje Jackers blames the situation on the potato industry, which has urged testing new potato varieties with poorer quality, which led to reduced demand.

This year's potato harvest in Belgium has been unusually large. At the same time, demand for French fries has plummeted in the country that likes to call itself the homeland of French fries.

A recipe for disaster for the country's potato farmers, who now have stocks of potatoes that no one wants.

In March, a ton of potatoes cost 10 euros. Some trading still takes place, but now the farmers are not paid anything to get rid of the potatoes, reports The Brussels Times.

“Mountain of potatoes”

Marlutje Jackers, mayor of the municipality of Herstappe and a potato farmer herself, is sitting on 2,500 tons of unsold pears. Instead of making money, she now risks having to pay to get rid of the potatoes before the next harvest.

“It's a mountain of potatoes. 50 by 25 meters and four meters high,” she tells the Belgian public service channel VRT.

In total, there could be close to a million tons of unsold potatoes in Belgian farmers' warehouses.

 

The French fries industry is singled out. Photo: TT

The Farmer: The French Fries Industry's Fault

Marlutje Jackers says the French Fries Industry is to blame. A few years ago, they urged farmers to try new potato varieties. But the quality deteriorated and demand fell.

Now the farmers are taking the hit, she says.

- We may have no choice but to spread the potatoes out onto the fields again.

Where and when French fries were invented is a disputed question.

But a common story is that the popular dish was invented in the Belgian city of Namur in the 17th century. According to legend, the inhabitants started frying potatoes when the Meuse River froze and the fish ran out.