Global: Potato Survey Opens in Six Languages to Compare Growers’ Latest Seasons

POTATOES NEWS has opened an anonymous online survey of the potato sector on September 30, 2026. It has six questions, takes one to two minutes and is available in English, Russian, Spanish, French, Hindi and Urdu.

Growers are asked how their latest completed season compares with the previous one, what average yield they reached in tonnes per hectare and how much of the crop has been harvested. All respondents, growers or not, are asked what the main problems of the season were and how potato prices now compare with a year ago. Processors, traders, suppliers, researchers and readers see only these questions and the profile questions; the yield and harvest questions are shown to growers.

The survey is worldwide by design. Harvest calendars differ between hemispheres and between early and main-crop regions, so the questions refer to the “latest completed season” rather than to a calendar year. Respondents choose one of eleven regions, from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to the European Union, Russia and North America. Yield is entered in t/ha, with a note that 1 t/ha is roughly 8.9 cwt/acre.

Yield alone rarely explains a season. Drought and heat during tuber bulking, excess rain that favours late blight (Phytophthora infestans), pest pressure and input costs act on the same crop at different times, which is why the survey asks respondents to name up to three main problems instead of one.

Answers are anonymous. The form does not ask for a name or contacts and keeps no readable IP addresses (only a one-way hash to prevent duplicate answers). Results will be published on potatoes.news once enough answers are collected. They will describe the people who answered, not the whole market, and will be labelled as a reader survey rather than official statistics.

The survey is open at potatoway.ru/opros/world2026.

Source: POTATOES NEWS reader survey “Potatoes worldwide: results of the latest season”