Ireland: Lowest potato area planted on record

The area of potatoes planted in Ireland is down 10.8% on the year, from 9,500ha to 8,400ha, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said. According to the IFA, this is the lowest potato area planted on record. IFA Potato Chairman Eddie Doyle has said two years of abysmal farmgate prices have resulted in a record low in the area of potatoes planted this year in Ireland. With harvesting of main-crop new season potatoes starting in earnest this week, Department of Agriculture figures reveal the area of potatoes planted in 2015 represents the lowest on record, it said. Commenting on the reduced area, IFA Potato Chairman Eddie Doyle said that he is not surprised. “Due to the terrible farmgate prices endured by potato farmers over the past two seasons, we now have only 8,000ha of potatoes in this country and any further drop in this acreage would leave the industry unsustainable,” he said. Source: Agriland.ie