An expensive remainder of potatoes from the 2023 harvest and a challenging start to the 2024 growing season, to say the least. That seemed to be the recipe for a relatively long summer break for the potato processors. The processing has certainly not completely disappeared.
In July, the Dutch chip industry processed 288.200 tons of potatoes, according to figures from the Association for the Potato Processing Industry (Vavi). That is almost equal to the five-year average of 289.500 tons. Last July, the processing figure for this month was 276.100 tons. In June 2024, 324.500 tons were processed. Last July, 57,7% of the potatoes processed in the Netherlands, or 166.400 tons, came from abroad.
Performance
A total of 133.500 tons of pre-fried chips were made and 20.800 tons were processed into other frozen potato products. The processing yield is therefore 53,5%. That's a bit on the low side for this time of year. For comparison: last July the return was 54,8%.