Since the closure of restaurants to fight the coronavirus, the consumption of fries has dropped in France and farmers are struggling to sell their stocks. " At this time, normally, I have nothing left, " blows Christophe Delebarre, potato producer in Pas-de-Calais, in front of the 150 tonnes of unsold goods in his hangar.
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In Comines in the North, Emmanuel Leclercq, a farmer, has set up a drive: he sells kilos of potatoes to individuals at 21 or 40 cents. Supplier of Belgian companies, he sums up the situation: “ Our contracts with manufacturers have been honored. Except that each year, we have a production surplus, of around 20%, which usually also finds takers with the industry. But this year, due to the lack of French fries, the manufacturers have no outlets and will therefore not buy this surplus. We end up with tons of potatoes on our hands and no one has a solution . ”
Since the opening of his drive, he has sold “ a dozen tonnes ”, but he still has 150 tonnes left. “ We will never be able to sell large tonnages to individuals, but it's better than nothing ”, relativizes- he. " Marketing by producers directly to individuals could allow not even 5% of stocks to drain, the bottom of the problem remains ", deplores Bertrand Achte, secretary general of the National Union of Potato Producers and president of the Groupement des producers delivering McCain (Gappi).
In the McCain factory in Matougues near Châlons-en-Champagne MARTIN BUREAU / AFP
In the McCain factories, the European leader in frozen french fries, the lines for french fries are almost all stopped - " a line continues to run in Harnes (Pas-de-Calais) to supply supermarkets ", explains Christian Vanderheyden, director of supplies.
The company works with 990 producers in France, including more than 700 in Hauts-de-France, the leading producing region. Each year, it buys 950,000 tonnes of potatoes from them, compared to 100,000 less this year.
" As soon as out-of-home catering, which accounts for 70% of our activities, stopped, sales collapsed, " says Christian Vanderheyden, also president of the Interprofessional Grouping for Potato Development (GIPT). . Admittedly, " supermarket sales have increased, but that hasn't made up for the rest ."
" Fries are mainly eaten outside the home, many families today don't even have fryers anymore!" "Adds Bertrand Achte, who estimates losses of 200 million euros for the industry.
According to Christian Vanderheyden, 450,000 tonnes of potatoes that should have been processed will not be processed this year. Among which, 200,000 were intended for French industries. For Bertrand Achte, " if we do not want to see the potatoes rotting ", the State must put 35 million euros on the table to pay in particular for the transport of unsold goods to the animal sector and methanation.
Especially since producers also record unusual storage costs. " In particular, more electricity is consumed to keep the potatoes marketable, " says a producer in Richebourg (Pas-de-Calais). To adapt to the market, the farmer has already replaced 10% of his potato plantations with corn for the next season.
Also read: The recipe for fries and ketchup from Stéphanie Le Quellec
