Australia
Potato
Year2007
Production
1 265 000 tons
Harvested area
79 040 acres
Yield
16.02 tons/acre
Potatoes were aboard the ship of explorer James Cook when he claimed eastern Australia for Britain in 1770, and their cultivation began along with colonization eight years later. Today, "spuds" are grown across the continent, from the southern temperate state of Tasmania to tropical North Queensland.
Australian potato production in 2007 was more than 1.2 million tons. That makes potato tubers the country's most important horticultural crop, accounting in 2003/04 for 42 percent of total vegetable production. More than 60 percent is processed into frozen potato products and crisps, while around 37 percent is fresh marketed.
Competition from foods such as pasta and rice has made recent inroads into the fresh potato market, and FAO estimates that between 1995 and 2005 annual per capita consumption of potatoes slipped from 121 lb to 116 lb.
Further details from AusVeg