News Harvest estimate
Potato and onion harvest mirrors last year's
CBS keeps a provisional estimate of the gross yields of potatoes and seed onions for consumption harvest estimate equal to the 2022 harvest year. This is evident from the figures published on Monday, October 30. In the case of onions, a larger acreage is the main reason why the total harvest volume remains within reach. Potatoes have done slightly better. Sugar beets perform less well.
Statistics Netherlands estimates the consumption potato harvest for 2023 at 3,6 million tons. That is equal to 2022 and 120.000 tons more than the five-year average. The area has decreased slightly this year, to 75.000 hectares. At 47 tons per hectare, yields are also at an almost unchanged level. The statistics service is still keeping an eye on things, because - partly due to the late planting time - not all potatoes have yet been harvested.
Poor hectare yield of onions
The gross yield of seed onions is estimated at 1,2 million tons, also the same as the previous harvest year. Compared to the five-year average, this is 5% less (60.000 tons). The hectare yield is estimated at 41,2 tons (yellow and red. That is 7,4% less than in 2022. Only in the disaster year 2018, fewer onions were harvested from one hectare.
The hectare yield of yellow onions is estimated at 41,5 tons and that of red onions at 39,3 tons. The area of yellow onions increased by almost 14% this year, while red onions were sown a quarter less. Statistics Netherlands itself has made a significant comment on this, because according to seed companies, not a quarter have been sown less. An error is said to have crept into the agricultural census. The significantly larger yellow onion area ensures that the total at the bottom equals that of 2022.
For sugar beets, the total harvest is estimated to be 5% lower, at 6,9 million tons. The hectare yield of 85,3 tons is almost 4% less than was harvested in 2022.
Niels van der Boom
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