The Canadian potato harvest is this year at a new record. In total, 123,1 million cwt potatoes were taken from the country, which is converted to 6,25 million tons. This is evident from the final figures from Statistics Canada. The last record was from 2003.
The final figures for the Canadian potato harvest have been announced. This shows that the yield is 18% higher than last year, when the area was a lot smaller. As a result of the corona crisis, which resulted in lower demand for potatoes for consumption, the Canadian acreage shrank by 1,4% last year to 145.592 hectares.
Favorable circumstances
The demand for potatoes from the processing industry picked up earlier this year, reaching pre-corona crisis levels. This created a lot of enthusiasm among potato growers, causing the area to grow by 7,4% to 156.333 hectares. Thanks to favorable weather conditions during harvest in most parts of the country, the vast majority of the area (98,9%) could actually be harvested. That is sometimes different. In 2019, almost 6% of the area remained in the ground.
In addition to the area, the hectare yield is also significantly higher in Canada this year. This amounts to almost 41 tons per hectare. Last year that was only slightly above 37 tons per hectare. This means the yield is 10% above 2020 and about 5% above the five-year average. The eastern provinces in particular contribute to the strong results. The growing conditions there were favorable.
Significantly higher yields in the east
In western Canada, growers had to deal with extreme heat and persistent drought. As a result, revenues fell. This is especially true in Alberta, where yields fell 1% to 46 tonnes per hectare. This means that Alberta still has the highest average yield in Canada. New Brunswick reaches 44,5 tonnes per hectare this season. That is no less than 47% more than last year, when the province suffered from extreme drought. On Prince Edward Island, the largest growing area, 42,5 tonnes per hectare were harvested this year, an increase of 33%.
The final figures are lower than expected earlier. Nevertheless, there is still a record harvest. The previous record was set in 2003 when the country produced 5,9 million tons. Also in 2004, almost 5,9 million tons of potatoes were harvested.