What country do you think grows the most potatoes? If you said Canada you aren’t even close. In fact, Canada is small potatoes compared to China and India. Small countries such as The Netherlands and Bangladesh grow more potatoes than Canada.
The world potato sector is undergoing major changes. As of 2007, China led the world in potato production, and nearly a third of the world’s potatoes were harvested in China and India.
Here are some interesting statistics: China produces 86 million tonnes annually, India is second at 46 million tonnes, the United States produces 21 million tonnes, Bangladesh, 8 million tonnes, the Netherlands 7 million tonnes. Canada is at 4.5 million tonnes. I’ve rounded the figures off for easier reading.
Asia and Europe are the world’s major potato producing regions, accounting for more than 80 percent of world production. North America is the clear leader in yields, at more than 40 tonnes per hectare.
Asia consumes almost half of the world’s potato supply, but its huge population means that consumption per person is modest. The heartiest potato eaters are Europeans. Per capita consumption is lowest, but increasing, in Africa and Latin America.
How many potato varieties can you name? Probably half a dozen, right? There are about 5,000 potato varieties worldwide. Three thousand of them are found in the Andes alone, mainly in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Columbia.
Although generally thought to be of Irish in origin, the potato is actually a native of the Andes. It was widely cultivated in South America at the time of the Spanish Conquest and was popular with the Aztecs and the Incas.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that the world production of potatoes in 2013 was about 368 million tonnes. Just over two thirds of the global production is eaten directly by humans with the rest being fed to animals or used to produce starch. This means that the annual diet of an average global citizen in the first decade of the 21st century included about 33 kg (or 73 lbs) of potatoes. However, the local importance of potato is extremely variable and rapidly changing. It remains an essential crop in Europe (especially eastern and central Europe), where per capita production is still the highest in the world, but the most rapid expansion over the past few decades has occurred in southern and eastern Asia.
Home-grown potatoes are the best
Many gardeners quit growing potatoes years ago because they were always so inexpensive in the supermarkets. Growing them and keeping the bugs off the plants was a hated chore. I love growing and eating my own home-grown potatoes and haven’t bought store potatoes in years. There is a huge difference –mainly taste.
The last few years I planted three rows of potatoes on April 30 and had a snack of new potatoes on June 21 but a real meal of new potatoes on Canada Day when our family got together at the cottage.
This year April was cool I didn’t think I’d be planting in April but I did plant 45 potatoes on April 30. I’m hoping to eat new potatoes again on Canada Day. I usually plant about 300 potatoes and will plant 100 at the end of May and 100 at the end of June. The early potatoes will attract potato bugs and I hand pick them twice daily. I found that late grown potatoes are the easiest to grow because the potato bugs don’t strip off the leaves.
What do I do with all these spuds? Give many away to family and friends. I only grow one variety –Yukon Gold –which is my favourite. By the way, Yukon Gold was developed 50 years ago. It was originally named after the Yukon River but the developer’s colleague suggested adding the word “Gold” in honour of its yellow tint.
