Potato Agro, a Ukrainian-based potato producing company that also markets potatoes under the brand name Bestpotato, is planning to build its own processing plant next year, local media reports say.

Konstantin Sarnatsky, business lead & CEO of Potato Agro, is quoted as saying that “this will be the first or one of the very first factories for the production of French fries in Ukraine.”

So far, plans have been slowed down because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made it tough to move ahead as originally planned.

According to Sarnatsky, the company is currently producing and supplying potatoes under a forward contract for processing into chips. A total of 400 hectares of potatoes are used for this purpose.

Another 400 hectares are earmarked for potatoes that can be processed into fries. As early as next year, the total area under potatoes should be more than 1,000 hectares. Potato Agro plans to increase plantings by 40-50% annually.