Belgian potato growers called on residents to eat an extra serving of french fries every week.
The director of Belgapom (Association of Potato Producers in Belgium) Romain Couls said in an interview with CNN that he hopes that calling on the Belgians to eat more french fries at home will allow “our processors to avoid food waste by processing more potatoes.”
Belgians usually eat fries once a week, but mostly outside their homes, during outings and outings in restaurants. Couls noted that Belgians are more restrained regarding eating french fries than residents of the United States, "where french fries are often a side dish for food."
According to the latest Belgapom data, this year Belgian potato farmers are faced with an excess of 750 thousand tons of this agricultural product, which could be destroyed due to the social and economic measures taken by the government to combat the spread of Covid-19. “By consuming an extra portion during this crisis, the people of the country could work with farmers and industry to avoid food losses,” said the head of Belgapom.
Today, many food stores are closed in Belgium, habitual consumption patterns are violated, which, according to Belgapom, has led to a 40% reduction in potato consumption worldwide since the pandemic. This is of great importance for Belgian potato growers, which are the world's largest exporters of frozen French fries - most of their products are intended for catering in 160 countries. According to Belgapom, in 2019, Belgian producers supplied 2,3 million tons of frozen potatoes worldwide, CNN notes.