After import troubles with South Africa and Brazil, Saudi Arabia is now pulling the strings. The increase in the import tariff will certainly be felt by the processors.
Belgium and the Netherlands export a lot of chips to the Middle East; a few 100.000 tons per year. For Saudi Arabia, which also has a strong position as a transit country, nearly 2015 tonnes leave the EU-16 in 200.000/5. This makes it the largest buyer of frozen chips outside the EU and is in sixth place in terms of volume of the total number of destinations.
The increase that took effect on 1 January this year will certainly be felt by the processors. It is also a signal that the world is changing and countries are becoming more protectionist, despite the fact that some countries, including Brazil, previously indicated not to implement such measures. On the other hand, the export of French fries to Asia and Africa is on the rise.