Potatoes remain a central ingredient to the local diet, with their versatility meaning they appear in a wide range of traditional and modern dishes. Potatoes are also widely used in the foodservice channel, especially fast food restaurants. Other types of starchy roots have limited demand, which is linked to a lack of distribution and awareness for these products. Thanks to a strong harvest year the price of potatoes declined slightly in 2025 which helped to boost demand.

Total retail volume sales of starchy roots in Germany rose slightly in 2025, supported by potatoes’ continued role as an affordable staple. Consumption patterns shifted towards more convenient potato formats, reflecting changing meal routines and stronger demand for easier preparation. Sweet potatoes recorded the fastest growth from a smaller base as urban consumers increasingly diversified beyond traditional potatoes, while cassava remained niche but gained gradual traction. Despite easing infl

Volume sales of starchy roots in Spain continued to fall in 2025, although the decline eased from the previous year as regional weather outcomes varied. Rising production costs, labour shortages and water scarcity continued to constrain supply and weigh on category performance. Producers responded by accelerating innovation in easier-to-prepare formats and more climate-resilient varieties, but processed alternatives kept gaining traction among time-pressed consumers. Sweet potatoes remained the

Starchy roots in Italy recorded volume growth in 2025 as easing inflation supported demand for affordable staples, with potatoes maintaining their central role in home cooking and foodservice. However, supply dynamics remained challenging as cultivated area for fresh potatoes continued to tighten, with growers increasingly drawn to processing contracts and export-linked demand that offer more predictable returns than the fresh market under volatile weather conditions. Sweet potatoes drove the st

Volume sales for starchy roots declined in France in 2025, and value sales fell more sharply as a steep price drop in industrial potatoes outweighed steady household reliance on fresh potatoes. Oversupply and delayed processing orders weakened pricing, while volatile weather and flooding added further disruption to planting, harvesting and availability. Sweet potatoes remained the main bright spot, with robust growth supported by novelty, perceived nutritional advantages and quick preparation, r

Starchy roots volume sales rose robustly in Mexico in 2025, driven by strong demand for potatoes supported by improved supply conditions and more stable pricing. Price sensitivity continued shaping purchases, reinforcing potatoes’ role as an affordable staple while limiting sweet potatoes’ reach beyond niche health-led demand. Convenience demand kept rising, lifting interest in pre-prepared potato formats, while processed alternatives outside the fresh category continued capturing time-pressed o

Starchy roots is seeing rising demand supported by increasing awareness of the nutritional value and potential health benefits of products such as sweet potatoes. There are efforts to increase the local production of starchy roots to meet growing demand, while farmers are also looking to ways to mitigate the adverse effects of poor weather and plant disease.

Volume sales for starchy roots in Poland fell marginally in 2025, while value sales increased, as potatoes declined and sweet potatoes and other roots gained. The category’s performance reflected a gradual shift in household routines: potatoes remained a core staple, but consumers increasingly favoured faster options and alternative carbohydrates, while home cooking supported experimentation with roots such as sweet potatoes and beetroot. Sweet potatoes was the most dynamic subcategory, benefiti

In 2025, total volume sales of starchy roots in the US showed continued modest growth. Retail and foodservice volume sales posted slight increases, while institutional volume sales were flat. Slow growth reflected a maturing category where expansion opportunities became increasingly limited as most households already purchased starchy roots regularly. Improvements to retail volume sales came as consumers continued seeking affordable, versatile staples for home cooking amid persistent economic pr

Price stability helps to boost sales of starchy roots in 2025. Potatoes remained the core focus of the category with this highly versatile product benefiting from the increasing focus on home cooking. Nonetheless, despite delivering growth in 2025, potatoes remain highly susceptible to climate change and other growing challenges. Producers are focusing on developing more stable and sustainable production techniques to ensure a steady supply of potatoes is maintained.

Household demand for starchy roots in Australia remained strong over 2025, with consumer reliance on this meal staple as a cost-effective solution in everyday meals. Heath-driven cooking occasions underpinned sales of sweet potatoes. Volatile weather placed restrictions on retail supply, placing upward pressure on prices during key trading periods.

Increase in foodservice sales helps to offset the ongoing decline in retail volume sales of starchy roots in 2025. An increase in dining out among locals and rising tourism numbers boost foodservice sales while retail demand is undermined by rising costs, increased demand for convenience and Japan’s shrinking population. Over the forecast period, players could place more focus on pushing “imperfect” produce to help alleviate supply pressures and to reduce prices for consumers.

Potatoes remain a key staple of the local diet while other starchy roots such as cassava and sweet potatoes are gaining relevance as new trends and recipes build interest. New trade agreements and an increasing focus on local production is bringing stability to the supply chain and should ensure that starchy roots remain an affordable staple over the forecast period

Chinese consumers are diversifying their staple food choices, with the nutritional benefits of starchy roots driving an uptick in sales over 2025. Competition from staple foods is evident, encouraging players to enhance value with convenient snack-packs of dried and roasted sweet potatoes, among other solutions.

Starchy roots in India is expected to see a slight decline in total volume sales in 2024. This is purely due to the decline in retail volume sales in the dominant category, potatoes, with all other categories set to see retail volume growth, and foodservice and institutional volumes anticipated to continue to rise across the board. This is partly because although potatoes are filling, their consumption has a reputation for weight gain, and as more consumers in India are focusing on weight manage

Starchy roots in Vietnam saw potatoes produced domestically face intensified competition from cheaper variants in 2024. Imported potatoes are mostly from China, are widely available and are priced much lower than local potatoes. While previously Chinese offerings in fruits and vegetables were found mainly in wet markets, they are now rapidly gaining shelf space in modern grocery retail channels, readily available in supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores and high-end stores. In all these

The trend for cooking regularly at home, accelerated by the pandemic, remains prevalent and is positively impacting retail demand for starchy roots in South Africa, especially for potatoes. This is now largely due to the high cost of eating out during times of economic pressure and decreased disposable incomes. High levels of inflation are placing pressure on household budgets, resulting in a greater drive to save money. One of the most effective ways to save is to cook more meals from scratch a

Brazil has been experiencing the impacts of the strong natural phenomena La Ninã and El Niño since 2022, which manifest with opposite effects across the country. While the former brought heavy rains to the Southeast and drought to the South in 2022/2023, the latter, which started in 2023 and continued to have an impact in 2024, inverted the situation. After experiencing heavy rain and historic floods in the first quarter of 2024, this caused Rio Grande do Sul, the most southern state in Brazil,