Québec ranks 5th among the potato producing provinces in Canada. The Quebec potato industry is strongly focused on table potatoes, while large scale production of frozen potato products is absent.
In 2018, 633 growers produced 509.000 tonnes of potato on 17.000 hectare. Three regions comprise more than half of the production: Capitale-Nationale (23%), Lanaudière (21%) and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (15%).
Table PotatoesMore than half of Quebec production is sold fresh (52%). The tubers are washed, drained, sorted and packed in different formats. Potatoes are classified according to the color of their skin or their flesh (yellow, red, white, blue), according to their shape (round, long, oblong, bell) or according to their culinary use (for boiling, mashing, in the oven, for frying). The most cultivated potatoes are the long varieties (41% of the surface area), the varieties with red (18%) and white (15%) skin. Varieties with yellow flesh are also increasingly sought after (7%).
Market for peeled potatoes
This market for peeled potatoes corresponds to 22% of production. The pre-peeling industry transforms potatoes to meet the needs of the hotel, restaurant and institutional food service industry, among other things.The vegetables are washed, peeled, cut, blanched or frozen before being packaged. It is therefore this industry that prepares, for example, ready-to-cook fries for restaurants. There is no major production of frozen potato products in Quebec.
Market for potato chips
This market is part of the snack food industry, which includes, among others, chips, pretzels, popcorn and corn products. It corresponds to 18% of potato production. In Quebec, two factories transform potatoes into chips. They provide more than 600 jobs in the region.
Market for Seed potatoes
This market corresponds to 8% of the production in Quebec.
In Quebec, planting certified seed potatoes is a legal obligation, but also quality assurance.Producers therefore call on seed companies who are dedicated to the multiplication of tubers. In Quebec, some function. These must comply with very strict phytosanitary standards in order to ensure that seeds of the highest quality are obtained. The majority of seed producers are found in more northern regions, such as Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Bas-Saint-Laurent or Côte-Nord.
