Dutch potato processors handled 269,300 tonnes of raw material in August 2026, according to figures from the processors’ association VAVI reported by Boerenbusiness and Nieuwe Oogst. That is roughly 0.4% more than in August 2025 but about 23,000 tonnes less than in July, and 4% below the five-year August average of 280,940 tonnes.

Imported potatoes made up a large part of the intake. Both publications put imports at 126,000 tonnes, or 46.8% of the total processed. Boerenbusiness says this share is higher than in the previous season; Nieuwe Oogst describes it as roughly unchanged.

Output was strong relative to input. According to Boerenbusiness, the plants produced 140,700 tonnes of fries and 22,100 tonnes of other potato products, a processing yield of 60.5% – the highest in ten years. The publication attributes this to the quality of the old-crop 2025 potatoes still being processed.

A smaller season

For the full processing season from September 2025 to August 2026, Dutch plants processed 3.58 million tonnes, against 3.87 million tonnes in September 2024–August 2025, the VAVI data show. Into mid-September, factories were running on roughly half old-crop and half new-crop potatoes, according to Boerenbusiness.

The two outlets read the same month differently: Boerenbusiness headlines that old potatoes “saved” Dutch processing, while Nieuwe Oogst describes a “step back” from July. Both sets of figures are identical.

Għaliex huwa importanti

The August data show how much the Dutch processing chain still depends on stored 2025 potatoes and on imports. That buffer is finite. Together with the tightening outlook for north-west European processing supply, the numbers suggest that the real test of the smaller 2026 crop will come later in the season, once carry-over stocks are exhausted. Growers with uncontracted volumes and processors planning their spring raw-material needs should watch the monthly VAVI figures closely.

ritratt: Linja tal-produzzjoni tal-istrixxi tal-patata (illustrative). SortingExpert / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0