Top Ten Potato Countries
China, Russia and India Grow Over 40% of Global Potato Crops
Netherlands is the world leader in spud exports & imports, reflecting its strategic importance as a European Union distribution hub for vegetables.
A study of the top ten potato countries shows that spuds are among the most valuable food commodities in international trade.
Rich in carbohydrates, potatoes also contain proteins, calcium, potassium and vitamin C. Boiling potatoes nearly doubles the amount of calcium and substantially increases protein content.
According to CRN India, the worldwide potato crop was around 322 million metric tons in 2005.
Many developing countries now export potatoes, making international potato trade highly competitive. To survive this competition, spud-producing nations must adopt new and improved technologies to raise their potato yields.
Spud-Producing Nations
The 10 nations listed below grow more than 70% of the global potato crop.
- China … 75 million metric tons (23.3% of global potato production)
- Russia … 37 million metric tons (11.5%)
- India … 25 million metric tons (7.8%)
- United States … 20.5 million metric tons (6.4%)
- Ukraine … 19.5 million metric tons (6.1%)
- Poland … 15 million metric tons (4.7%)
- Germany … 13 million metric tons (4.0%)
- Belarus … 8.5 million metric tons (2.6%)
- Netherlands … 7.5 million metric tons (2.3%)
- France … 7.5 million metric tons (2.3%).
Top Ten Potato Exporters
In 2004, the following nations exported the most potatoes by weight.
- Netherlands … 1.7 million metric tons (23.9% of top ten total)
- France … 1.4 million metric tons (20.2%)
- Germany … 1.3 million metric tons (18.6%)
- Belgium … 972.8 thousand metric tons (13.7%)
- Canada … 428.1 thousand metric tons (6%)
- Israel … 394.4 thousand metric tons (5.6%)
- Spain … 232.5 thousand metric tons (3.3%)
- United States … 220.7 thousand metric tons (3.1%)
- United Kingdom … 217.4 thousand metric tons (3.1%)
- Italy … 183.3 thousand metric tons (2.6%).
In terms of unit prices per metric ton, U.K. (US$481), Italy ($416), Spain ($389) and the U.S. ($329) garnered the highest dollar values for potato exports.
Potatoes from Germany (US$135), Belgium ($155) and Canada ($218) dictated lower prices on the world market in 2004. Israel, Netherlands and France enjoyed average prices from $229 to $299.
Top Ten Potato Importers
The following countries spent the most on potato imports in 2004.
- Spain … US$236.9 million (15.6% of top ten total)
- Netherlands … $204.9 million (13.5%)
- Belgium … $190 million (12.5%)
- Germany … $189.4 million (12.5%)
- United Kingdom … $186 million (12.3%)
- Italy … $176.4 million (11.7%)
- France … $125.8 million (8.3%)
- United States … $84.4 million (5.6%)
- Portugal … $64.1 million (4.2%)
- Greece … $56 million (3.7%).
In terms of weight, Canada and Russia both import more potatoes than Greece. Canada and Russia imported 163.7 thousand and 161.2 thousand metric tons respectively, while Greece imported 140.4 thousand metric tons. However, Greece paid an average unit price of $399 per metric ton – an amount far higher than the $204 that Russia or the $294 that Canada shelled out for its imported potatoes.
On the list of top 10 importers, the United Kingdom paid the highest unit price ($489) for imported potatoes while Netherlands ($125) and Belgium ($182) paid the lowest. In fact, the Netherlands imports more potatoes than any other country by weight.
Sources for this Article
This article presents independent calculations and insights based on key statistics from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (fao.org) and CRN India.
