For the French potato industry, the 2024 production campaign represents a significant turning point, according to a news story published by Potato Business.
Despite the climatic obstacles of a particularly wet and challenging season for farmers, the initial evaluations show a production that continues to expand, with a notable increase in areas allocated to conservation (+11%), reaching 178,900 hectares, according to the most recent numbers from Agreste.
According to UNPT, the 2024 harvest, which reached a national gross yield of 43.1 t/ha and 44.5 t/ha in the UNPT/CNIPT panel areas (Picardy, Nord Pas-de-Calais, Champagne-Ardenne, Centre, Haute-Normandie), is in line with the ten-year average following a year 2022 marked by disastrous yields and a notable rebound in 2023.
Nonetheless, it emphasizes the ongoing failure to regain the yield levels attained a decade ago. This standstill directly affects national production and raises important questions about the medium- and long-term prospects of yields.
In all, national production would be 7,711,209 tons, up 12.2% from the previous year. This increase is mostly due to an expansion in farmed areas, which is accompanied by a large increase in industrial demand. Added to this is a rising reliance on certain neighboring countries, which are experiencing increasing challenges with their own output.
Source: Potato Business. Original story here
Image: Credit Katuschka from Pixabay
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