Chips in Britain set to be 3cm smaller after summer heatwave in Europe

Chips in the UK are set to be smaller this year as farmers across Belgium struggle to cope after the record-breaking heatwave swept across Europe this year.

The dry weather this summer has had an affect on the size of potatoes and could mean that chips will be 3cm smaller than normal, Pierre Lebrun, head of the Walloon Potato Growers’ Association said.

Speaking to Belgium’s Sudpresse newspaper, he said: “Because the potatoes are smaller at the moment, we will all be eating smaller chips.”

Crops across Europe have suffered as a result of the heatwave, with a crop yield drop of around 20% being reported in Northern Europe, the Telegraph reports.

Britain, which eats a staggering 1.75 million tonnes of frozen chips each year, is also struggling after the sustained period of hot weather, with farmers facing a 10 to 15 per cent drop in yield.

“This was the hottest British summer since 1976, which any potato person will tell you was an almost mythical year,” Cedric Porter, editor of World Potato Markets, told The Telegraph.

“It is still talked about in potato circles. The chips are down, you can expect smaller chips in Britain and Europe,” he added.

According to Mr Porter, the low yields in Europe have sent the price of potatoes soaring on the open market from £8.90 per ton last year up to £222 this year.

The news of Belgium's crop yield struggles comes one month after the country applied to the EU for emergency funds due to the drought.