POTATOES.NEWSGlobal potato industry intelligence2,840 stories
The Dutch potato area fell 8.4% to about 150,000 ha in 2026. Ware potatoes took the cut, while seed potatoes grew slightly to 42,100 ha and now make up 28% of the area.
A delegation of France Plants, the French seed potato organisation, visited Senegal on 23–24 September. France sells 9,000–10,000 tonnes of seed potatoes to Senegal each year and plans variety trials for storage and frying.
Portugal grew potatoes on about 108,000 ha in 1961. Eurostat now shows 14,470 ha for 2026, and the country covered only 58% of its own needs in 2018.
Portugal's statistics office INE expects irrigated potato production to rise by 10% in 2026, while the rain-fed crop falls by 15%. Retail potato prices were 7.9% higher than a year earlier in July–August.
Polish potato breeder HZ Zamarte, founded in 1946, has released 125 varieties and tests 75,000 seedlings a year. Its purple-fleshed Provita matures in about 90 days and gives about 23 t/ha in the field.
Poland grew potatoes on about 2.8 million hectares in 1961 and on about 196,000 ha in 2024. Yields rose to more than 30 t/ha, and farmers declared 185,100 ha for 2026.
South Africa harvested 2.62 million tonnes of potatoes in 2024, eight times more than in 1961. At the same time the number of commercial table potato growers fell from 1,700 in 2003 to 513 in 2021.
Niğde, Kayseri, Konya, Afyonkarahisar and Sivas produced 3.7 million tonnes of Turkey's 6.9 million tonne potato crop in 2024. Output has grown almost fivefold since 1961.
Saudi Arabia grew just 600 tonnes of potatoes in 1961 and more than 620,000 tonnes in 2023–2024. Official data show self-sufficiency rising from 87% in 2023 to 93% in 2024.
Farms in Russia's Urals Federal District had dug 294,000 tonnes of potatoes by 23 September. Sverdlovsk region, where waterlogging led to an emergency regime in 37 municipalities, has 90,000 tonnes in store.
Royal HZPC Group's commercial chief sees export chances for Indian seed potatoes but says rules block them now. He asks the trade to push for bilateral seed agreements.
Issyk-Kul region produced 35.4% of Kyrgyzstan's potatoes in 2023. National output rose from 362,000 tonnes in 1992 to more than 1.4 million tonnes in 2015 and has eased since.
