According to FEPEX’s potato committee, the area planted with early potato varieties, which are mainly grown in Andalusia and Murcia, will decrease by 5% to 10% in the 2021 production season, while acreage of mid-season and late varieties, which are cultivated especially in the center and north of the peninsula, will decrease by 20%.
Marcos Roman the head of the potato sector of Asociafruit said that a large part of planting has already taken place in Andalusia, and that the area planted is 5 to 10% smaller than in 2020.
Alfonso Saenz de Camara, the president of the FEPEX Committee, said the Committee expects the area devoted to medium-season and late-season potatoes in Castilla and Leon will decrease by 20%. Meanwhile, the area in the Basque Country is expected to remain similar to the area of the previous year.
As of November 2020, Spain has 67,300 hectares devoted to potato cultivation and a production of 2.1 million tons. Up until November 2020, Spain produced 263,785 tons of potatoes for export worth 95.8 million euro, which is 8% and 35% less in volume and in value than in the same period during 2019.
Source:
