French potato crop to shrink by 23% after severe weather, growers say

PARIS, Aug 24 (Reuters) - France's main potato crop is expected to fall 23%, or by about 2 million metric tons, from last year after exceptionally hot and dry weather this summer, growers' group UNPT said on Monday.

• Potatoes and other summer crops, including maize, have suffered badly from extreme weather in Europe.

• The average yield for this year's food potato crop in France is expected to fall 14% from 2025 to 37.4 tons per hectare, the UNPT said in a statement.

• This would be the second-lowest yield in the past 30 years after 2022, another year marked by severe summer weather.

• Low yields will compound the impact of a 10% fall in area this year as French growers initially reacted to abundant European supply last year by planting less, UNPT said.

• The harsh weather also threatens to affect potato size and quality, the UNPT said, calling on processors, including french fry makers, to relax their contract terms.

• European potato production is concentrated in a northwestern belt that also includes Belgium, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, all of which have also endured drought and heatwaves.

• The European Union's crop monitoring service on Monday projected that the bloc's potato yield would drop to 34.6 tons per hectare in 2026, 6% below the five-year average.

(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Tasim Zahid)