Potato season 2023/24 will hit the history books as the season in which the perpetuum mobile of culture and processing of fresh potatoes was affected by an unknown number of factors, each of them having its effects at the same time : the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, the consecutive series of poor weather conditions, the military conflict in Ukraine, demonstrations of farmers in anger, the conflict in Israel and its consequences for maritime transport, elections in nearly all European member states, new regulations aiming at keeping the balance between agriculture and nature preservation,……

The year 2023 will enter the history books in (Western) Europe as a year of extreme irregularity in agricultural activities. Several external factors played a very important role in the fluctuations of market circumstances of which we give a short summary :

In times troubled with Covid, war, climate changes, environmental issues, etc…which have a serious impact on day to day life, we should have a deeper look into the consequences for agriculture in general and potato processing in particular. Where do we stand and where are we going to ?