Potato yield is above average

The total gross yield of consumption potatoes from the 2019 harvest is determined by the CBS estimated at 3,9 million tons. This means a growth of 24% compared to the 2018 harvest. Compared to 2017, the yield this year is 0,1 million tons lower. The potatoes therefore broadly follow the same movement as seed onions.

In this estimate, Statistics Netherlands assumes an expected yield of 49,3 tons per hectare. The hectare yield for consumption potatoes is therefore estimated to be 20% higher than 2018. The yield per hectare is also slightly above the average of the past 10 years (49,1 tons). For comparison: the average potato yield in the European Union is estimated at 32,7 tons per hectare this year, which is 'only' 6,4% more than in 2018.

Area grows 3%
The higher yield expectation does not come as a bolt from the blue. It was already known that the area of ​​consumption potatoes in the Netherlands increased in 2019. According to Statistics Netherlands, which is based on the number of hectares planted as stated in the Agricultural Census, this is an increase of 3%. The area amounts to 78.900 hectares. That is slightly less than the provisional area figures which were published in June. It spoke of 79.500 thousand hectares of ware potatoes, an increase of 4,1%.