The Netherlands and Belgium are the two largest producers of frozen potato products in Europe. Most of the French fries and other potato products are mostly exported, according to the Netherlands Central Statistics Office, and one of the big consumers is the UK.
For many years, more than half of the frozen potato products in Europe (Euro Area) were produced in factories in the Netherlands and Belgium. The UK and Germany are also large producers of frozen french fries and related products.
Europe produced about 3.8 million euros worth of frozen French fries last year, a third of which was produced by Dutch manufacturers, worth about 1.3 million euros, or about 16 billion kilograms.
The total value of Dutch exports of frozen potato products is around 1.3 billion euros, and the UK is its most important consumer, accounting for a quarter of the total value of Dutch exports. Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, and Italy buy frozen French fries and other potato products in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands imported about 239 million euros worth of potato chips and other frozen potato products in 2015, nearly three-quarters of which came from neighbouring Belgium. In addition, Germany and France are also important suppliers of frozen potato products. Half of the imports are sold on the Dutch market, and the remainder is immediately exported to other countries.