Polish farmers, who harvested more than 7 million tons of potatoes in 2025, are the most affected by the classic “overproduction crisis”. The record harvest, accompanied by potato imports from neighboring European countries, has led to a fourfold decrease in wholesale potato prices on the Polish market – to 0.05-0.06 euros/kg. In some “potato regions” of the country, the purchase price dropped to an unprecedented level of 0.01 euros/kg. The country’s authorities are preparing to compensate farmers and invest in potato storage infrastructure.
“This is food, and food we should not throw away. If only I could, I would distribute these potatoes myself, so they wouldn’t go to waste. We are working on launching a program of one-time financial assistance for potato growers,” Polish Deputy Agriculture Minister Malgorzata Gromadska said in this regard in a comment for Onet.
Who is to blame and what to do?
In addition, she said, the ministry has appealed to antitrust authorities about unfair trade practices and is considering the possibility of purchasing potato starch for strategic reserves.
Nevertheless, twice as much potatoes remain in storage as a year earlier. The problem of shortage of post-harvest infrastructure is worsening. To address this, Poland’s Agricultural Restructuring and Modernization Agency is allocating PLN 41 million (€9.7 million) for the construction of new warehouses. Some PLN 5.47 billion (EUR 1.3 billion) is earmarked for potato processing and storage as part of the recovery plan.
Logos Pressnote : At the end of last week, wholesale potato prices in Poland were half to three times lower than in Moldova. However, according to traders, it is not profitable to bring potatoes from Poland or (what is closer) from Ukraine because of too high transportation costs. Taking this into account, according to the price monitoring data of EastFruit portal , the average wholesale price for potatoes in Moldova increased last week – not much, only by 1 euro cent. However, if Polish sources are to be believed, this is the “throwaway price” of potatoes in some regions of this country.
