During the General Assembly, Europatat members elected a new Board to lead the association for the next four years. Following the allocation of responsibilities within the newly elected Board, the association announced the appointment of Peter Ton as its new president.
The European potato community gathered once again in Brussels as part of Europatat Congress 2026. During the General Assembly, members elected a new Board for the 2026-2030 term. After the Board’s decision on the distribution of responsibilities, Peter Ton, from Royal HZPC Group and representing NAO in the Netherlands, was appointed president of Europatat.
Ton succeeds Tigran Richter (Norika/DHKV, Germany), who has served on Europatat’s Board over the past four years. Vlastimil Rasocha (Medipo Agro/CBS, Czechia) will continue as vice-president of the association, while Francisco Moya (Vitalis Group/Fedepom, France) will remain in his role as treasurer.
Priorities for the year ahead
Europatat members also approved the association’s accounts and reviewed the implementation of the strategy for the 2025-2028 period, adopted last year.
While issues such as trade, plant health, food safety and RUCIP will remain among Europatat’s main priorities for the coming year, other dossiers such as sustainability reporting and measurement, water, nutrition, the promotion of potato consumption and potato-related research are also a fundamental part of the association’s current work.
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During the General Assembly, members were also presented with the Europatat 2025-2026 Activity Report, which provides an overview of the association’s work since June 2025. A digital version of the report is now publicly available on Europatat’s website.
Peter Ton, new president of Europatat
Peter Ton, Europatat’s new president, is currently Chief Operating Officer of Royal HZPC Group and is actively involved in the Dutch potato sector through NAO. In recent years, he has also been closely engaged with Europatat, serving as a member of the Advisory Committee since 2022 and as outgoing chair of the association’s Seed Potato Commission.
“Having been active in the potato sector throughout my professional life, I see the members’ vote for me as a Board member and their support for me to become president of Europatat as a sign of trust and confidence. Trust that their concerns and interests are in good hands, and confidence that all voices and opinions will be taken into account.
My ambition is to continue strengthening Europatat’s position as the ambassador of our industry, as well as a platform for all European organisations representing part of the potato value chain. I thank all members for their trust and promise to represent them with dedication and pride. I look forward to working with our fantastic team in Brussels,” said Ton.
