Germany: Potato Harvest Forecast Falls 24.8% to 10.4 Million Tonnes

Germany expects a potato harvest of 10.4 million tonnes in 2026. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) published the estimate on 24 September. It is based on early lifting results from the official harvest and quality survey.

The forecast is 24.8% lower than the 2025 harvest. Last year, Germany harvested 13.9 million tonnes, according to federal agriculture statistics.

The average yield is estimated at 388.7 decitonnes per hectare, or about 38.9 t/ha. In 2025, the average yield was 459.6 dt/ha.

Growers planted potatoes on 268,300 hectares this year. That is 33,500 hectares, or 11.1%, less than in 2025. Many farmers cut area after the large 2025 crop pushed prices down.

Strong regional differences

Drought and repeated heatwaves hit the south and west hardest. According to the Dutch market platform Boerenbusiness, Bavaria expects 1.89 million tonnes, 36% less than last year. North Rhine-Westphalia expects 1.79 million tonnes, a fall of 28%.

Lower Saxony remains the largest producing state. Its crop is estimated at 5.1 million tonnes, down from 6.6 million tonnes. Saxony-Anhalt is an exception. Its crop rose 5% to 669,100 tonnes, with yields of 53.5 t/ha, according to the same report.

At the end of August, the market information company AMI had estimated the German crop at 10.6 million tonnes. The new official figure is slightly lower.

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The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) reported in its market report for weeks 38–39 that consumer potato prices were 15.1% higher than in September 2025. Producer prices were largely stable, with no supply pressure.

Regional reports mention small tubers and weak yields in Rhineland-Palatinate. Wireworm damage is raising storage and sorting costs in some areas.

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Germany is the largest potato producer in the European Union. A crop of 10.4 million tonnes means less material for processors, packers and exporters in North-West Europe. Southern buyers will depend more on northern supplies, and tight supply is likely to support free-market prices through the storage season.

Photo: A potato harvester on a harvested field in Haßloch, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (illustrative). Georg Slickers / Wikimedia Commons, CC LOS-SA 3.0