Canada
Potato/Pomme de terre
Year2007
Production
5 468 032 tons
Harvested area
392 550 acres
Yield
13.95 tons/acre
Potatoes were first grown by settlers in New Brunswick, on Canada's Atlantic coast, as early as the mid-1600s. Today, Canada ranks as the world's 13th largest potato grower, with 2007 output of around 5.5 million tons. The potato accounts for one third of all vegetable farm cash receipts, making it Canada's most important horticultural crop.
Since the early 1990s, Canadian potato output has expanded to meet international demand for frozen potato products. In 2004, almost 2.2 million tons of raw potatoes - or 37 percent of total production - were needed to meet export demand. Most exports are in the form of frozen french fries, destined mainly for US markets.
Despite the potato's popularity, however, annual consumption in Canada declined from 196 lb per person in 1994 to around 187 lb a decade later.
Further information: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada