Frozen Fry Sales for Q2 Are down 36% Globally

According to data from the Global Trade Atlas, in the second quarter of 2020, sales of frozen fries worldwide fell by almost 36%. Between April and June 637,000 tons of frozen fries were exported worldwide. This is 353,800 tons less than the second quarter of 2019 - a decrease of 35.7% from the 2019 Q2 volume of 991,000 tons.

The EU had the largest loss in tons, exported almost 230,000 tons less of frozen potato products (-37%).

In the US, the drop was a little smaller at 34%. In absolute tons, the fall in sales there comes to 84,500 tons of end product. Canada exported 46% fewer fries, losing 19,400 tons.

As a percentage, Argentina lost the most, with 46.5% less exports, equal to almost 29,000 tons of end product. Of the main potato-exporting countries, New Zealand recorded the smallest loss with a drop of 9%.

The figure for the EU applies to exports of end product to non-EU destinations. This also includes the UK, which is the largest buyer of European fries. Exports to the UK from the EU were 43% lower in Q2.

In North America, fry processors managed to limit the loss by efficiently handling product flows and limiting costs as much as possible. At the end of the second quarter, consumption rose, but exports fell by 43% in June, compared to the same month in 2019.