Europe's poor potato harvest this summer could mean French fries are three centimeters shorter than usual. The poor harvest is because of the very hot summer. Europe had record temperatures. This heatwave caused a lack of rain, so farmers produced a lot fewer potatoes than normal. A spokesman from a potato growers' association in Belgium said farmers grew 25 per cent fewer potatoes this summer. This increased potato prices and made the average size of potatoes smaller. Smaller potatoes will mean French fries are shorter.
The potato shortage is a big talking point in Belgium. Fries are the national dish there. The country has over 5,000 shops that specialize in fries. Belgians love their fries. There is a campaign to rename them "Belgian fries" because Belgians say the fry was invented in Belgium. Belgium is one of the largest exporters of frozen fries in the world. The spokesman explained why fries would be shorter. He said: "To have long fries, we work with potatoes with a diameter of more than 50mm. Then you get fries of 8 to 9 cm. This time, as the potatoes are smaller, the fries will be shorter."