The popular fast-food variety Innovator is performing best in Farm Frites' fixed-price contracts for the 2026 growing season. The price reduction is smaller than for, for example, Fontane and Agria. Seed potato prices are also falling significantly.
Last year, the company left contract prices virtually unchanged. This year, however, it's setting its own course. Fontane prices are down €5,00 across the board compared to the 2025/26 season. The harvest season for Fontane starts at €12,50 per 100 kilos. By week 17, that price is €22,45, and by week 26, the variety will reach €24,30.
Innovator has the smallest price reduction at €3,00. The harvest period starts at €17,00 and ends at €26,70 in week 17. In week 26 (the last delivery week), it drops to €28,60. These prices are exclusive of VAT and do not include any compensation or premiums. Starting in week 14, the company pays a fee for storing this variety in a mechanical cooling system. For other varieties, this fee starts in week 17.
No click contract
The company is not adjusting the delivery periods; they remain unchanged. This also applies to the start of the harvest season, which begins in week 27. Prices for the Agria variety will decrease by €5,00, and for Donata, which Farm Frites has grown with in recent years, the reduction is €4,50 compared to last year. In practice, this variety often disappoints. It can't keep up with Innovator, even though it claims to be cheaper to grow. Starting next season, click contracts will no longer be possible due to the malfunctioning of the potato futures market.
Optimization
Seed potato prices remained unchanged last season, but this year they will decrease by approximately €500 per hectare, the company reports. The company says it is optimizing its growers, primarily those outside its core area in the Netherlands and Belgium. Farm Frites is not disclosing the exact impact.
Fine print
Growers presented with the contract are advised to carefully review the "other provisions." Farm Frites amended these last season and is now applying them. For example, it states that if a grower contracts more than 40 tons per hectare, the seller is considered a trader. They are therefore obligated to deliver all contracted tons at all times.
Farm Frites has the first right of purchase for the remaining potatoes from the indicative area, which is not unusual. This volume is settled at the daily price. What is unusual (at least for Dutch growers) is that the Belgapom quotation is used to determine a daily price if grower and buyer cannot agree. This is especially true for the Innovator variety, as Belgapom does not quote it separately.
Surrender margin
To make European fries competitive again, everyone in the chain must sacrifice margins, the company says. This applies to the factory, the seed potato supplier, and therefore also the potato grower. However, according to the company, sales of fries have stabilized and are no longer declining. With these price corrections, the company believes it can once again become competitive as a raw material for potatoes.