Over the past few decades the Belgian potato-processing sector has grown remarkably and this trend continued in 2015, when just under 4 million tonnes of potatoes were processed into fresh or frozen fries, mashed potato products, crisps, precooked potatoes, flakes and granulate. With 3,970,595 tonnes of processed potatoes, the sector experienced 4.4% growth compared to 2014.
What is remarkable in the annual overview of Belgapom, the Belgian association for the potato trade and processing sectors, is the continued rise in investments: € 167,207,415 (+ 44.7%) was a record sum invested. With the intended expansion of the sector on the horizon in the next few years, there is little chance of this trend reversing soon.
The growth is above all apparent in the production of frozen (+5.3%) and fresh fries (+2%), but the volume of other products (such as potato croquettes, crisps, flakes and others) once again increased (+1.3%).
After years of growth in the number of jobs, 2015 seems to have brought stagnation, thus confirming the trend of further far-reaching automation.
This growth of the Belgian potato-processing industry reflects the rising global demand for processed potatoes.
Belgium lies in the middle of the European production area and it can count on skilled potato growers who produce high-quality potatoes with an eye to being processed into fries, crisps or other products.
The growth of the Belgian potato chain ensures that not just the processing industry, but also the producers and the companies that provide goods and services can further develop as a cluster.
The project ‘Together for sustainable growth’ launched by Belgapom is central to this. The project tries to steer the entire potato chain towards further, but above all sustainable growth.
James Bint, with a license to fry
Belgapom and its companies strive to further develop the image of ‘real Belgian fries’ all over the world. In no other country in the world is the consumption of fries as deeply ingrained in the culture as in Belgium. Even German Chancellor Merkel recently escaped from a European summit to grab a portion of fries in a Brussels chip shop.
James Bint, a cartoon character with a ‘license to fry’ will in the coming years remain the global ambassador for Belgian fries. In 2016 a campaign is planned to get to know the figure of James Bint even better together with the Belgian chip shops. What’s more, the successful campaign with the chip shop at the Belgian pavilion during the World Fair in Milan will be continued with special offers all over the world. James Bint will be present during the royal economic mission to Indonesia that is leaving next week.
