Developing countries leading the way

World potato production has almost increased by about 20 per cent over the last twenty years. The increase has occurred in the developing countries alone, particularly in Asia. During recent years the farmers in Indonesia have been producing 10 percent more potatoes, in Nepal almost 9 percent and even in China 6 percent – each and every year.

In Latin America the farmers also harvest many more sacks of potatoes than they did twenty years ago, with the Mexicans and Peruvians in the lead. This trend also applies to Africa.

US farmers harvest the highest yields from their fields – at least twice as much as their colleagues in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Russia. And almost 25 percent more than their European counterparts.

50 kg potatoes for all

In purely statistical terms, enough potatoes are harvested each year around the world to allow every single one of the Earth’s 6.6 billion inhabitants to eat a good 50 kg of potatoes each year.

The highest consumption is in Russia, at about 250 kg per person per year – five times the world average. Ukraine and Belarus follow, with about four times the average, and the EU with three times. The USA and China lag far behind, the population of China consuming almost exactly the average of 53 kg per annum. People in South America and Africa eat the least potatoes. .

Statistical data available at:

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
  faostat.fao.org