Germany: Consumers Pay 15.1% More for Potatoes Than a Year Ago as Harvest Advances

Potato prices in German shops are well above last year. Consumers now pay 15.1% more than in September 2025. The figure comes from the market analysts at AMI. It appears in the weekly potato report of the federal food agency BLE, published on 25 September 2026.

The analysts expect potatoes to remain one of the main drivers of food inflation this season. Their share of food spending is still relatively small. The reason for the rise is simple. This year’s harvest is much smaller, while last year’s crop was much larger.

A separate AMI note confirms the trend. Consumer prices for potatoes, vegetables and butter are rising in September.

Producer prices hold steady

At farm level, prices are firm but no longer climbing. In week 39, the national average for mainly waxy table potatoes was €28.77 per 100 kg. That is €0.15 lower than a week earlier. Individual prices ranged from €22 to €37 per 100 kg, according to AMI data.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the REKA table potato price fell by €1 to €30 per 100 kg.

Harvest picture by region

Domestic lifting volumes keep rising, but the harvest is not finished. The range of varieties on sale is widening.

• Bavaria: the table potato harvest is well advanced. Quality problems, mainly wireworm, stay within limits, apart from some severe cases.
• Rhineland-Palatinate: the harvest is nearly complete. Yields are weak and tubers are small. Wireworm increases storage work and risk.
• Lower Saxony: the north-east reports an average harvest despite drought stress elsewhere.
• North Rhine-Westphalia: quality is good and sales of processing potatoes are growing.
• Schleswig-Holstein: rain interrupts lifting, while producer prices stay stable.

Federal statistics put the 2026 potato crop at about 10.4 million tonnes. That is 24.8% less than last year.

אונדזער באַריכט וועגן דער ערשטער אפיציעלער דײַטשער שניט-שאַצונג איז פאַרעפֿנטלעכט געוואָרן דעם 26סטן סעפּטעמבער.

פארוואס עס ענינים

Higher retail prices show that the small crop is now reaching consumers. This can slow demand for fresh potatoes over the winter. Discounters may push for cheaper imported supply.

For growers, stable producer prices near €29 per 100 kg are far better than last season. But wireworm damage and small tubers will reduce the share of saleable potatoes. Storage losses may decide how much of this price advantage growers keep.

Photo: Potatoes on sale in a grocery store (illustrative). Santeri Viinamäki / וויקימעדיע Commons, CC BY-SA קסנומקס