News Potatoes
The potato planting season is progressing quickly with this weather.
Potato planting in the EU-5 is proceeding quickly due to favorable conditions, meaning the acreage is in the ground fairly early. The pace is high and varies slightly by country. Read more about the progress of the potato planting season in the EU-5.
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Choose the subscription that suits youWhile the planting season started hesitantly just after Easter (week 15), a large part of the acreage has already been planned within two weeks. This positions 2026 as a smooth season in terms of planting. Last year, and 2021 and 2022, saw a very early start; this year is following quickly.
The real acceleration in planting operations began in week 17. Under favorable field conditions, work could continue at full speed in all regions. As a result, about 70% of the potatoes in the Netherlands had been planted by the end of that week. Belgium was slightly further ahead with approximately 75%, according to the weekly overview from potato processor Aviko.
According to this overview, Germany and Great Britain are making the least progress. Nevertheless, approximately 65% of the potatoes are now in the ground there as well. France is leading the way with planting; by the end of last week, 80% of the work had already been completed there.
With 65% to 80% of the potatoes in the ground early this week, planting operations will be largely completed before May 1st under current conditions.
