Belgian potato growers are at their wits' end

Viaverda estimates the total Belgian potato harvest at 4,55 million tonnes. That is a slightly smaller harvest than in 2023, but is 4% above the five-year average. The yields per hectare of Bintje, Fontane, Challenger and Innovator show a downward trend. This is partly due to the more extreme weather conditions that growers are confronted with. It is either too dry, too hot or too wet. In ten years, the area of ​​potatoes in Belgium has increased by approximately 20.000 hectares. According to Viaverda, these extra hectares are disastrous for maintaining sufficiently generous crop rotations.

Fontane disappoints
The average yields on the potato plots monitored this year by Viaverda in Flanders and Fiwap/Carah in Wallonia are around the five-year average. Planting date makes the difference. The potatoes planted early or on time have generally done well, while the plots planted late are lagging behind in yield. The average yield of Fontane in Flanders is 47,0 tonnes per hectare gross and 44,3 tonnes per hectare in Wallonia. The five-year average is 48 tonnes per hectare. The yield of Challenger is 50 tonnes per hectare, equal to the five-year average. Innovator (of which plots were only sampled in Wallonia) did relatively well with an average yield of 47 tonnes per hectare. The five-year average is 42 tonnes per hectare. This drought-sensitive variety has benefited the most from the wet growing season. The old familiar Bintje yielded an average of 44 tonnes gross compared to 42 tonnes per hectare in the five-year average.