Potato world
Developed countries
Developing countries
World potato production, 1991-2007
| 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countries | million tonnes | ||||||||
| Developed | 183.13 | 199.31 | 177.47 | 174.63 | 165.93 | 166.94 | 160.97 | 159.99 | 155.56 |
| Developing | 84.86 | 101.95 | 108.50 | 128.72 | 135.15 | 145.92 | 152.11 | 160.12 | 165.15 |
| WORLD | 257.25 | 301.27 | 285.97 | 303.36 | 301.08 | 312.86 | 313.09 | 320.11 | 320.71 |
| Source: FAOSTAT | |||||||||
The world potato sector is undergoing major changes. Until the early 1990s, most potatoes were grown and consumed in Europe, North America and countries of the former Soviet Union. Since then, there has been a dramatic increase in potato production and demand in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where output rose from less than 30 million tonnes in the early 1960s to more than 165 million tonnes in 2007. FAO data shows that in 2005, for the first time, the developing world's potato production exceeded that of the developed world. China is now the biggest potato producer, and almost a third of all potatoes is harvested in China and India.
Top potato producers, 2006-2007
| Quantity (t), 2007 | Kg per capita, 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1.  China | 72 000 000 | 1.  Belarus | 835.6 |
2.  Russian Fed. | 35 718 000 | 2.  Netherlands | 415.1 |
3.  India | 26 280 000 | 3.  Ukraine | 414.8 |
| 4. Ukraine | 19 102 300 | 4.  Denmark | 291.1 |
5.  USA | 17 653 920 | 5.  Latvia | 286.0 |
6.  Germany | 11 604 500 | 6.  Poland | 271.5 |
| 7. Poland | 11 221 100 | 7.  Belgium | 267.4 |
| 8. Belarus | 8 497 000 | 8.  Lithuania | 261.2 |
| 9. Netherlands | 7 200 000 | 9. Russian Fed. | 259.0 |
10.  France | 6 271 000 | 10.  Kyrgyzstan | 219.4 |
| Source: FAOSTAT | |||
America
quantity
Potato production, by region, 2007
| Harvested area | Quantity | Yield | |
|---|---|---|---|
| hectares | tonnes | tonnes/hectare | |
| Africa | 1 503 145 | 16 308 530 | 10.84 |
| Asia/Oceania | 8 743 857 | 137 182 946 | 15.68 |
| Europe | 7 439 553 | 128 608 372 | 17.28 |
| Latin America | 962 434 | 15 985 825 | 16.61 |
| North America | 615 032 | 22 626 288 | 36.78 |
| WORLD | 19 264 021 | 320 711 961 | 16.64 |
| Source: FAOSTAT | |||
Asia and Europe are the world's major potato producing regions, accounting for more than 80 percent of world production in 2007. While harvests in Africa and Latin America were far smaller, production was at or near record levels. North America was the clear leader in yields, at more than 36 tonnes per hectare.
America
(per capita)
Potato consumption, by region, 2005
| Population | Consumption | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total food (t) | kg per capita | |||
| Africa | 905 937 000 | 12 850 000 | 14.18 | |
| Asia/Oceania | 3 938 469 000 | 101 756 000 | 25.83 | |
| Europe | 739 276 000 | 71 087 000 | 96.15 | |
| Latin America | 561 344 000 | 13 280 000 | 23.65 | |
| North America | 330 608 000 | 19 156 000 | 57.94 | |
| WORLD | 6 475 634 000 | 218 129 000 | 33.68 | |
| Source: FAOSTAT | ||||
Asia consumes almost half of the world's potato supply, but its huge population means that consumption per person was a modest 25 kg in 2005. The heartiest potato eaters are Europeans. Per capita consumption is lowest, but increasing, in Africa and Latin America.
Top potato consumers, 2005
| Quantity (t) | Kg per capita | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. China | 52 882 000 | 1. Belarus | 337.99 |
| 2. Russian Fed. | 20 442 000 | 2. Kyrgyzstan | 152.20 |
| 3. India | 18 253 000 | 3. Russian Fed. | 141.98 |
| 4. USA | 16 399 000 | 4. Ukraine | 141.62 |
5.  United Kingdom | 6 842 000 | 5. Latvia | 136.14 |
| 6. Ukraine | 6 659 000 | 6.  Armenia | 131.76 |
| 7. Germany | 6 120 000 | 7. Lithuania | 130.67 |
| 8. Poland | 4 893 000 | 8. Poland | 127.75 |
| 9. France | 3 880 000 | 9.  Rwanda | 124.83 |
10.  Bangladesh | 3 746 000 | 10.  Portugal | 118.62 |
| Source: FAOSTAT | |||