Association: Also in Brandenburg, Potato Surplus to be Distributed - Berlin races to give away 4 million kilos of potatoes before they spoil
Brandenburg’s potato farms have produced a record harvest in 2025, flooding the market with far more spuds than buyers can handle. Over 403,100 metric tons were pulled from fields across 11,400 hectares, leaving growers struggling to sell their crops. Now, efforts are underway to prevent millions of kilos from going to waste—including a major free distribution campaign in Berlin.
The sheer volume of this year’s harvest has created what farmers call a 'potato glut'. Unsold stocks are piling up in storage, including at one agricultural business south of Leipzig. With few buyers, concerns are growing about spoilage and unnecessary waste.
In response, the Berliner Morgenpost and search engine Ecosia have teamed up to launch a citywide initiative. Their goal is to give away 4 million kilos of potatoes to Berlin residents before they spoil. Meanwhile, the welfare group Volkssolidarität Brandenburg is pushing for a different solution. They want the state to step in and redirect surplus potatoes to social institutions, daycare centres, and schools. The organisation argues that edible food should feed people—not be left to rot or turned into fuel—especially when many rely on food aid. The Brandenburg Farmers’ Association recognises the goodwill behind the idea but questions whether such a scheme could work long-term. For now, the glut remains, and the race to use up the harvest continues.
With storage facilities filling up and prices too low to shift the surplus, the focus has shifted to practical solutions. Free distributions in Berlin and calls for state intervention aim to tackle the immediate problem. Yet the challenge of balancing supply and demand in future harvests remains unresolved.
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