Trends of potato production and consumption in the world

Abstract

Potatoes are one of the most important agricultural crops, especially in areas with moderate climate. Tubers are a rich source of minerals (K, P, Mg, Na, Ca, etc.) and vitamins (especially vitamin C, then E, A, H and B vitamins). According to FAOStat data, in the period from 2017 to 2021, potatoes were grown on an average of over 17.2 million ha in the world, with an average tuber yield of 21.5 t/ha. Over 370 million tons of potatoes are produced annually in the world, of which over 50 % are produced in Asia. The world's largest potato producers are China, followed by India, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the USA. The average consumption of potatoes per capita per year in the world for the period 2017-2021 is 33.3 kg. It is interesting to point out that Europe consumes the most potatoes per capita per year (76 kg/per capita/per year), while the lowest consumption of potatoes per capita per year is in Africa (14.6 kg/per capita/per year).