Global potato production nearing almost 400 million tons

The global potato production continues to grow. From 2020 to 2024, potato cultivation has increased from 370 to 390 million tonnes. Thus, the threshold of 400 million tonnes is rapidly approaching. Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that in 2024, slightly more than 390 million tonnes of potatoes were produced worldwide. The southern hemisphere made the biggest gains that year, with growth rates of 6% to 9% compared to 2023. Only Africa and North America recorded a decrease in 2024. National sources indicate that Canada and the United States showed a slightly lower production in 2025. In both countries, the harvests were about 2% smaller than in 2024. This is more than compensated by expansions in area and high potato yields in the European Union. In particular, the main potato regions in Northwest Europe (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France) have harvested more potatoes. More potatoes were also grown in Poland, Romania, and Austria. As a result, the potato harvest in the EU is already 5 million tonnes larger than in 2024. Although there has been an increasing harvest in the EU for the third consecutive year, there is no upward trend in the long term. A similar production level was achieved in 2017 in the EU-27, when more hectares of potatoes were cultivated. In 2017, the cultivation area, according to Eurostat figures, was 1.6 million hectares, compared to 1.45 million hectares in 2025. Due to a larger area in Northwest Europe, significantly higher yields were realized last year: 34.8 tonnes in 2017 and 37.5 tonnes in 2025. Asia and other growth regionsDespite the dynamics in Europe and North America, production growth in Asia remains the largest global driver. China and India are by far the largest producers worldwide. China alone accounts for about a quarter of global production. The total production in Asia has now risen to over 200 million tonnes, according to FAO figures. That means more than half of the potatoes are grown in Asia. Europe follows with a harvest of around 100 million tonnes, but that has been more than double that in the distant past. Just like in Asia, the potato is gaining significant ground in Africa. Although the production there is much smaller in absolute terms than in Asia and Europe, this region is one of the fastest-growing markets due to increasing domestic demand and improved cultivation conditions. In recent years, Africa has made significant progress with an increase in potato production from 30 to 31 million tonnes in 2020 and 2021 to over 34 million tonnes in 2023 and 2024.