A new Greenpeace report unveiled on Wednesday points out the "blatant imbalances" that exists between the "profits generated by a few companies active in purchasing and processing potatoes on the one hand, and the minuscule incomes of farmers on the other."
The NGO details that around 90% of the Belgian market is controlled by seven companies. "A handful of large agri-food companies set the rules of the market, to the detriment of farmers, consumers, and the environment. They are making colossal profits while pushing farmers deeper and deeper into poverty," complains Albane Aubry, agriculture campaigner at Greenpeace Belgium.
In its report, Greenpeace points out that the turnover of these seven companies has jumped by 44% between 2021 and 2022, to a total of €3.4 billion. For the NGO, the increases in industry profits also reflected the prices paid by consumers, who have seen the price of potatoes rise by 61% since 2015 and the price of frozen chips by 51% in 2022 alone.
Given this situation, Greenpeace regrets that farmers are bearing all the risks in the event of poor crop yields, as it is the case at the moment with bad weather conditions. "Farmers find themselves trapped in a system over which they have very little influence, which limits their autonomy and financial stability," continues Aubry.
Greenpeace is calling for increased negotiating power for farmers in commercial deals and for authorities to intervene in the pricing of potatoes. They propose prices should reflect the real farming production costs while putting a cap on the excessive profit margins of the agribusiness and large-scale retail sectors.
