French potato imports drive Spanish new-potato prices below cost, COAG warns
The Spanish farmers' organisation COAG says a flood of French old-crop potatoes into the HORECA channel has pushed Spanish new-potato prices to 25-30 cents per kilogram, below the 35-40 cent production cost. France now supplies 73.7% of Spain's imported potato, and growers face losses of 100-150 euros per tonne.
French old-crop potatoes flood the Spanish HORECA channel
Spain's new-potato harvest is facing a price crisis at the start of the summer tourist season as large volumes of French storage potatoes enter the hotel, bar and restaurant (HORECA) channel, according to the farmers' organisation COAG. The group says major operators supplying hospitality are placing old French potatoes bought at 15 to 20 cents per kilogram, while freshly harvested Spanish potatoes have fallen to 25 to 30 cents at origin, below production cost.
The tubers, stored in cold chambers since the 2025 harvest, are being routed into restaurants during the peak tourist season. Alberto Duque, who heads the sector at COAG, said the summer boom in hospitality is not reaching Spanish fields: while hotels, bars and restaurants raise activity, growers of new potatoes are on the brink of ruin. He warned that the tortilla served to tourists is more likely made with French storage potato than with Spanish seasonal produce.
Prices below cost as inputs climb
Spanish new potatoes are being paid 25 to 30 cents per kilogram in the field, against production costs of 35 to 40 cents, COAG reports. The gap leaves growers with losses of 100 to 150 euros for every tonne sold. Affected production is concentrated in areas such as Campo de Cartagena in Murcia and Andalusia, precisely where fresh national supply peaks in these months.
Input costs are compounding the pressure. COAG says agricultural diesel has risen 50% year on year and nitrogen fertilisers have gained close to 40%, which the organisation links to the war in Iran. With those costs, selling below production cost turns each transaction into a direct loss for the grower.
A decade of rising French imports
French potato imports have grown steadily over the past decade. According to COAG, Spain imported 708,000 tonnes from its neighbour in 2016 and 941,000 tonnes in 2025, a 33% increase in ten years. The sharpest jump came between 2023 and 2024, when imports rose 23.5% to 955,870 tonnes, the highest on record.
France now supplies almost three of every four kilograms of imported potato in Spain, a 73.7% share of the total. COAG notes that French storage potato can darken when boiled and break apart when fried, unlike fresh Spanish tubers, a difference that matters for dishes such as tortilla de patata.
COAG's demands
COAG is calling for immediate action from wholesale markets, HORECA operators, retail chains and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It wants a firm commitment to Spanish new potato on shelves during May, June and July, and the progressive removal of French storage potato while national supply is available in sufficient quantity and quality.
The organisation also demands clear labelling that distinguishes new from storage potato and states the country of origin, tighter enforcement of the Food Chain Law to guarantee prices above real production costs, and joint campaigns to promote Spanish new potato.
