Potato yields in the United Kingdom (UK) have been considerably lower. AHDB Potato has let us know. What are the yields across the North Sea, and what is the overall picture of the European Union (EU)?
The total potato yield in the UK is 4,9 million tonnes. That is 13% lower than the 5-year average. This is not only due to dry growing conditions, but also to the area decrease of approximately 4,4%.
UK hectare yields reached 40 tonnes, which is 20% lower than last year's yield and 13% lower than the 5-year average. In the UK, approximately half of the area has irrigation options.
Fewer problems for Scotland
According to AHDB, Scotland has not suffered much from the drought. The hectare yields in the country are said to have even increased by 3%. However, production there too shows a decline, mainly due to the decrease in area. The local arable farmers do not agree with the AHDB figures. They estimate that yields in the country are more likely to be 10% to 20% lower.
The British figures complete the European picture of potato yields. Below is an overview of revenues in the EU-5, compared to 2017.
| Country | Yield decline | potato yield |
| France | -10% | 5,85 million tons |
| United Kingdom | -19,6% | 4,9 million tons |
| The Netherlands | -23% | 3,1 million tons |
| Germany | -25% | 8,7 million tons |
| Belgium | -32% | 3,5 million tons |
How is Poland performing?
We cannot withhold the Polish figures. Yields in the country amount to 7,4 million tons, 20% less than last year. We can conclude that the total potato harvest in EU-5 remains at 26,05 million tons. That is very different from the start of the season was expected.