Potato growers in Belgium harvested 3.97 million tons of potatoes from 92,500 hectares last season. This is evidenced by a joint survey of research institutes PCA, Inagro, Fiwap and Carah.
This production includes the collection of 265,000 tons of early potatoes. Overall, Belgium’s 2022 potato crop is 6 percent lower than last year and 8 percent lower than the five-year average. Over the past five years, the potato harvest in Belgium was lower only in 2018. This was due to very low yields. Overall, Belgium’s 2022 potato crop is 6 percent lower than last year and 8 percent lower than the five-year average. Over the past five years, the potato harvest in Belgium was lower only in 2018. This was due to very low yields.
The total area of consumer potatoes in Belgium this year will be approximately 92,500 ha. This is 3 percent more than last year. On an area of 52,000 hectares, 56 percent of the potatoes consumed by Belgium come from Flanders. In Wallonia, this area is just under 41,000 hectares.
Decreased yield per hectare
The average harvest of early and late potatoes per hectare in Belgium this year is 42.9 tons, according to research institutes. This is 4.5 tons per hectare less than after the 2021 growing season. Potato growers in Flanders produced several hectares more per hectare than their Walloon counterparts.
Fontane remains by far the largest potato variety in Belgium with a production of 2.13 million tons. This volume has been fairly constant over the last three years. Last year, only 150,000 tons of binthier were harvested, the lowest in many years. Among other breeds, the share of both Pretenders and Innovators is falling. About 25 percent of all harvested Belgian potatoes are still freely available.
