The latest potato processing figures are back. The French fries industry put considerably more potatoes through the baking and freezing machines in December 2019 than in the last month of 2018.
In December 2019, the Dutch potato processing industry processed 317.500 tons of potatoes. This is slightly more than in November 2019 when 311.500 tons of potatoes were processed, but 41.700 tons (+15%) more than December 2018.
Of the processed quantity, 145.900 tons of pre-fried product and 29.300 tons of other products were produced, giving a processing rate of 55,2%. A year ago that percentage was 54,1%.
A total of 2019 tons of potatoes were processed in calendar year 3.863.500, compared to 4.012.200 tons in 2018. The smaller volume is due to the poor potato harvest of 2018. The fact that the 2019 potato harvest is in better shape in terms of kilograms is evident when the processing figures from 2019 and 2018 for the period August to December are compared. In 2019, 1.683.800 tons of potatoes were processed, compared to 1.604.500 tons in the same period a year earlier (+5%).