Eurostat: Potato production increases in Cyprus and EU, but still in long term decline

The amount of potatoes harvested in Cyprus in 2023 increased compared to 2022, without returning to 2021 levels, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

Across the EU there has been a long-term decline in the production of potatoes, which has also been recorded in Cyprus, as well as a small increase in 2023.

In 2023, 48.3 million tonnes of potatoes were harvested in the EU, a slight increase compared with 2022 when 47.5 million tonnes were harvested.

However, in the long term, there has been a decline in the harvested production of potatoes; the level of production in 2023 was 27.9 million tonnes less than in 2000, equivalent to a fall of 36.7%.

Cyprus recorded the harvesting of 95,000 tonnes of potatoes in 2023, which is an increase of 5.6% compared to 2022 (90,000), while still less than 2021 (almost 99,000).

Compared to 2000, when potato production was recorded at 117,000 tonnes, Cyprus saw a reduction of 18.8%.

At country level, Germany was the largest producer of potatoes in the EU in 2023 (11.6 million tonnes, 24.0% of the EU total), followed by France (17.9%) and the Netherlands (13.4%). Together, these three EU countries accounted for a majority (55.4%) of the harvested production of potatoes in the EU in 2023.

Eurostat also points out that few EU farms produce organic potatoes, according to 2020 data. That year, according to the data, there were 9.1 million farms in the EU in 2020, of which 1.0 million farms produced potatoes.

In 2020, 25,000 farms in the EU produced potatoes according to organic production methods. This represented only 2.5% of all farms producing potatoes.

Austria had the highest share of farms producing potatoes organically (25.6%). The share in Cyprus was merely 0.7% in 2020.

(Source: CNA)