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By Ben Eborn, Publisher, North American Potato Market News
Major exporting countries shipped 10.6 billion pounds of French fries and other frozen potato products to countries outside their local trading zones during 2025. That is 85 million pounds more than year-earlier sales, a 0.8% increase. Combined external sales from the major European exporters fell 7.5% short of year-earlier shipments. Offshore exports from North American fryers during the 2025 calendar year nearly matched 2024 shipments. Market shares continue to shift as smaller exporters rapidly expand production. Combined sales from emerging exporters including China, India, Egypt, Argentina, New Zealand and Turkey climbed by 26% during the period. In this article, we explore global French fry trade by major exporter as well as the trade outlook for the next 12 months.
European External French Fry Exports Down 7.5%
European fryers shipped 5.71 billion pounds of frozen potato products to customers outside the EU during the 2025 calendar year. Combined sales from the five major European exporting countries fell 465 million pounds below year-earlier shipments, down 7.5%. The 2025 downturn in EU French fry exports came despite a huge oversupply of raw product. Exports from Belgium and the Netherlands dropped by 14.7% and 5.9%, respectively. France’s frozen product exports climbed 40.4% above the previous year’s sales. Germany’s exports fell by 13%, while Poland’s sales increased by 1.2%.
Seven of the EU’s top 10 customers reduced purchases of French fries and other frozen product during the year. The largest volume reductions came in sales to the United Kingdom (-171 million pounds), Saudi Arabia (-68 million pounds) and Chile (-67 million pounds). At 480 million pounds, the United States, the second largest importer of EU French fries, reduced purchases by 36 million pounds. On the other hand, Colombia (+25 million pounds), Brazil (+15 million pounds) and Mexico (+7 million pounds) increased purchases during the period.
EU fryers captured 53.9% of the global French fry export business during 2025. That is down from 58.7% in 2024 and 61.8% in 2023. Though the EU’s external French fry export volume has declined during the past three years, sales have grown by an average of 3.1% per year during the past 10 years.
North American French Fry Sales to Offshore Markets Down 0.1%
North American fryers shipped 2.22 billion pounds of frozen potato products to offshore markets during 2025. That nearly matched 2024 exports. U.S. frozen product sales dropped by 5.4%, to 1.72 billion pounds, during the 2025 calendar year. However, that fell 9.4% short of the five-year average. It is the smallest U.S. export volume since 2011. Increased global competition and relatively strong domestic demand have held back U.S. export growth, even with abundant raw-product supplies. In contrast, Canada has been able to take advantage of the opportunity to expand exports. Canadian offshore exports increased by 24.1%, to 502 million pounds. That is Canada’s largest export volume since 2007. It exceeded the five-year average sales volume by 47.6%.
Japan, the largest customer, took 670 million pounds of North American-made product, 10.3% more than year-earlier purchases. Mexico reduced its imports by 7.9%, to 490 million pounds. Exports to South Korea fell by 8.8%, to 168 million pounds. Sales to Taiwan dropped by 13.5%, while exports to Guatemala rose by 4.3%.
Together, North American fryers captured 21% of the global market. Their total market share has been stable during the past three years. North America’s offshore frozen product exports have grown by an average of 0.1% per year during the past 10 years; however, year-to-year sales have varied significantly.
Combined Frozen Product Exports From Smaller Exporters up 26%
Smaller exporting countries (China, India, Egypt, Argentina, New Zealand and Turkey) combined to ship a record 2.67 billion pounds of French fries during 2025. That is 552 million pounds more than year-earlier sales, a 26% increase. Though total sales from the smaller exporters increased, shipments were mixed.
China shipped a record 834 million pounds of French fries to customers outside of greater China during 2025. That is 400 million pounds more than 2024 sales, a 92.2% increase. China is now the fourth largest French fry exporting country. Its major customers include the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. India has also become a major player in global French fry trade. At a record 570 million pounds, 2025 exports jumped 49.9% above year-earlier sales. India’s top customers include the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand. NAPMN estimates that Egypt shipped 579 million pounds of French fries during 2025, down 9.2%. A lot of the country’s export business is in the Middle East; however, Brazil and the United States are among Egypt’s top five customers. Argentina exported 445 million pounds during the year. That is 8.2% more than year-earlier sales. Brazil is Argentina’s main customer. New Zealand exported 121 million pounds of French fries in 2025. That is 17% more than year-earlier sales. Most of New Zealand’s exports go to Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. Turkey shipped 124 million pounds of French fries during 2025, down 19.7% from 2024. Turkey’s major customers are Russia, Iraq and China. Together, the six exporters captured 25.2% of the global French fry export business during 2025, up from 20.2% in 2024 and 17.3% in 2023.
Conclusion
China, India, Egypt and Argentina are focused on maintaining and increasing their share of the global French fry export business during 2026. French fry exports reached a record 10.61 billion pounds during 2025. Global external exports have grown by an average of 4.1% per year during the previous 10 years (2016-2025). However, that rate has averaged only 1.3% during the past three years. Global sales grew by only 0.8% in 2025, even though the European Union and North American fryers have an abundant raw-product supply and additional processing capacity. Trends suggest that long-term global French fry demand growth will continue, but that growth rate will likely be down from previous years. Capturing additional export sales during the 2026-27 processing season will be a major challenge for North American processors.