Market overview
The potato market in Germany and Europe remains clearly supply-driven in February 2026. There are several indications of structural oversupply - including cases in which large quantities of potatoes are given away or used for other purposes due to a lack of sales.
Very good harvest conditions had already led to surpluses and financial concerns among producers.
At the same time, processing and product prices are falling: Frozen fries reached their lowest price level in three years at the beginning of 2026, which is slightly supporting demand but keeping raw material prices under pressure.
Price trends
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Germany Producer prices for table potatoes (week 7):
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waxy: 10-14 €/dt
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Mainly waxy: 10-13 €/dt
→ Continued low level with weak marketing.
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Supply situation
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Large European harvests led to sharply falling prices and structural oversupply as early as 2025
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Production expansions in north-western Europe further increased price pressure.
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A very large available quantity is still evident in 2026 (e.g. reduced free purchase quantities and large harvest in Germany according to industry reports).
Assessment: clearly oversupplied market.
Wholesale & industry
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Low free market activity and limited demand already led to significantly falling prices for processed goods in 2025.
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Frozen product prices are currently low, which stimulates demand but weighs on commodity prices.
Export
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EU processing sector remains strongly export-oriented, but export volumes have recently fallen after record years.
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Global oversupply limits additional sales opportunities.
Demand
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Low product prices stimulate consumption slightly, but cannot offset structural surplus.
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Market remains calm overall with limited free demand.
REKA/Index note
The EU-4 index (weighted average of the most important EU producers) currently confirms a very low price level with hardly any movement.
ZMP Live Expert Opinion
Conditions on the wholesale markets for ware potatoes remain largely unchanged in this reporting week. Continued ample supply meets only subdued demand, which means that the structural supply surplus remains in place.
Despite ongoing promotional campaigns, there have been no stimulating effects from the food retail sector so far, meaning that there are no signs of a noticeable upturn in market momentum.
At producer level, marketability is increasingly focused on high-quality stock lots. At the same time, sorting rates are rising as the storage period progresses, which is putting additional pressure on prices.
Against this backdrop, neither a significant price recovery nor the implementation of storage cost-related price premiums are foreseeable in the short term.
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