Once again, the US Department of Agriculture USDA has revised the yield figures for the 2022 potato crop downwards. Potato growers in the United States have harvested the smallest amount of potatoes in 12 years. In addition to an unfavorable growing season, the smaller area also affected production, which fell by 3%.
The USDA published January 12 his latest Crop Production Summary. The figure for potatoes was adjusted by 4,65 million cwt to 17,59 million cwt. That is equivalent to 17,8 million tons of potatoes. The forecast was already reduced during the harvest - from 19 to 18,2 million tonnes - but a new reduction brings the total down again. Not so few potatoes have been harvested since 2010.
11.300 hectares fewer potatoes
This is partly due to the decrease in the harvested cultivation area. This decreased by 11.300 hectares to 362.400 hectares compared to 2021. This is 1.600 hectares less than reported in the previous report. In the thirteen states for which the USDA reports, production was adjusted in ten states. In half of the cases, production was higher and in the other half, fewer potatoes were harvested.
The converted hectare production remained stable last year. According to the USDA it amounts to 49 tons (438 cwt per acre). A year earlier that was 49,74 tons.
In percentage terms, potato production in California fell the most. This concerns 30% fewer potatoes than were harvested in 2021. Yields are lower, but the area also fell sharply. In Michigan, production fell by 15%. Idaho and Washington are the two heavyweights in American production. In Idaho, production shrank from 5,99 to 5,47 million tons (-520.000 tons) and in Washington production remained stable at 4 million tons.
EU strengthens its grip on the market
The historically small American potato production also has consequences for Europe. In November, the US imported 119.820 tons of French fries from Europe. That is 5% more than a year earlier and the largest monthly volume ever. It is striking that Canada - the largest supplier of fries - exported the same volume to the US in November, while European imports increased by a third. The EU-5 has almost a fifth of the American chip market, compared to 13% in the previous season.