Hauts-de-France: more organic potato plots despite the limited market

With the closure of restaurants and consequent decrease in factory activity, organic potatoes, just like conventional potatoes, have suffered from the Covid-19 crisis.

In recent years, the consumption of organic products has been on the rise, but organic potatoes do not benefit from this trend.

Alain Delebecq, plant advisor at Bio in the Hauts-de-France:
 

“We observe that consumers eat fewer organic potatoes, in favor of a greater variety of organic vegetables.”

“The development of the organic potato sector has therefore relied mainly on the industry. The fresh market is more moderate, it is a small market that is quickly saturated! The industry is what has kept the sector alive in recent years.”

Despite the current context, there has been a steady increase in the number of farms producing at least 3 hectares of organic potatoes.

Between 2018 and 2019, the surface area increased by 34%. The Somme department comes in first place with the largest area of organic potatoes, followed by the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments.