Germany emerged as the leading producer of potatoes in the EU in 2020, accounting for 21.2% of the total production, according to new data from Eurostat.
It was followed by Poland, accounting for 16.4% of the total, France (15.7%), the Netherlands (12.7%) and Belgium (7.2%).
In 2020, the EU harvested a total of 55.3 million tonnes of potatoes, and these five states accounted for nearly 75% of the total EU production.
Denmark, Romania, Spain, Italy and Austria also made it to the top ten in potato production in the EU.
Last year, German demand for potatoes and potato products collapsed during the coronavirus crisis, an industry body said. The vegetable was being used as animal feed or for making biogas.
Food And Seeds
Potatoes are mainly used in the EU for fries and crisps.
Besides exporting and trading raw potatoes for food and seeds, the EU also processes its potatoes into four main types of products: frozen potatoes (mainly fries), prepared or preserved potatoes (mostly crisps), dried potatoes, and potato starch.
In 2019, the overall value of EU processed potato production reached €9.1 billion, or 1.6 % of the value of the output of the whole European food industry, Eurostat noted.
Frozen chips and crisps were the most significant potato products in terms of production value.
Elsewhere, Tesco introduced unwashed potatoes to approximately 262 stores across the UK earlier this year in a bid to reduce food waste. Unwashed potatoes have a longer shelf life as soil helps to block out light and slow down the natural decay process.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Supply Chain news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
