This is a growth of 6,9 % compared to 2013 and a new record for the sector which in 1990 was processing 500.000 tonnes of potatoes.
In addition, it is striking that the employment in the sector increased steadily and that investments are maintained. These numbers illustrate that the program ‘together for a sustainable growth’, which the sector federation Belgapom developed, is not an empty box.
The increase in 2014 is mainly the consequence of the increased demand from export markets outside of the EU. The lower potato prices on the free market (next to the more expensive contract market) and the strong dollar which is a disadvantage for non-European competitors from North-America, give extra opportunities for export of Belgian potato products. Again in 2014, the Belgian potato processors confirm their role of number one exporters of frozen potato products worldwide and thereby deepen the gap with the first runner-up, the Netherlands.
The Belgian potato sector wants to build on the image of Belgian products. Through the active participation in the Belgian pavilion at the World Exhibition in Milan – in the context of the action “food.be” (small country, great food) and a clear presence at the World Potato Congress in Beijing (July 2015) the sector wants to clarify that the correct term is not ‘french fries’, rather – as Stromae announced during his concert tour in the US – ‘Belgian fries’.
