News: Potato Harvest of table potatoes in Sweden up 7%

The Swedish harvest of table potatoes (all potatoes, only excludes potatoes used for starch production) is estimated at 581.000 tonnes. This is 38.100 tonnes or 7 percent more than the total harvest in 2010.

Four counties dominate the cultivation of table potatoes: Skåne, Västra Götaland, Halland and Östergötland counties. The area for table potatoes amounted to 19.990 hectares in 2011.

The yield/hectare of table potatoes including early/new potatoes for 2011 is estimated at 29.070 kilos per hectare, which is 6 percent higher than the final harvest of the previous year.

Östergötland and Halland counties report the highest yields of 36.100 and 32.670 kilos per hectare, which is respectively 13 and 5 percent more than the harvest the year before.

Skåne County, with its significant cultivation of early potatoes and thus with a lower yields per hectare, has a harvest of 30.710 kilos per hectare, which is 6 percent higher than last year.

In Örebro County the yield per hectare was 47 percent higher compared to last year's low harvest level.

In Dalarna and Västerbotten counties, yields per hectare increased by 23 and 12 percent respectively.

In Norrbotten County, the yield per hectare is almost 21 percent lower than last year, mainly because almost 20 percent of the potato area had to be left unharvested. Local rain showers have led to extreme variations in yield levels even among neighbouring farms. During the autumn the steady rains caused delays in the harvest work, especially in the southwest and north parts of the country.

Besides early/new potatoes, the category table potatoes includes autumn and winter potatoes for direct consumption as well as potatoes for the production of potato flakes, chips, french fries etc., potatoes used as feed and seed potatoes.

Production of starch potatoes increases 9%

Potatoes for starch are mainly cultivated in Skåne, Blekinge and Kalmar counties. The yield per hectare is estimated to be 39.130 kilos per hectare and the total yield to be 297.400 tonnes, which is almost 9 percent higher than last year's results. Kalmar county reports the highest harvest of 40.940 kilos per hectare. The area for potatoes for starch amounted to 7.600 hectares, which is an increase of 240 hectares compared to 2010.