Inquiries among German potato growers show that the acreage will decrease slightly this year. That is what the German federal states calculate. This puts the numbers in a different direction compared to the NEPG's recent forecast.
An initial estimate of the German potato area is 249.000 hectares. Local states have interviewed growers, who also provide data to determine potato yields. Such an area represents a decrease of 2% compared to 2017. This still makes it the second largest area in 1 years.
Clouded numbers
Previously, the NEPG came up with one a prognostic of 1,5% growth (to 177.016). However, this excludes starch potatoes and seed potatoes, which somewhat cloud the picture. The German states no longer keep separate figures for the different product groups.
Of the 12 potato-growing German states, half expect an increase in the area. The increases are relatively small at several hundred hectares. In the largest potato state, Lower Saxony, the area increased by 500 hectares to almost 113.000 hectares. In numbers 2 and 3, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, a total of 1.900 hectares will be lost. They account for 41.000 and 30.000 hectares.
More chip and starch potatoes
The acreage in Lower Saxony is increasing due to the cultivation of additional French fries potatoes. It is also expected that more starch potatoes will be grown, which are also included in the calculation. This also ensures that the area in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg also increases. An increase in Schleswig-Holstein is special, given that the 2017/2018 season went poorly.
In the southwest the area is also increasing slightly, while in the southeast it is decreasing. Mainly due to less demand for locally grown table potatoes. Whether a large area of potatoes also provides more product remains to be seen. The growing conditions this summer are decisive for this.