Polonia: The EU country with the most potatoes certified organic
The latest data published by Eurostat, corresponding to the year 2014, show that potato farms across the European Union take up a total of 1.6 million hectares of land, which provide an income for 1.9 million producers.
The total value of the production is estimated at almost 10 billion Euro per year.
A glance at the Potato statistics shows that Poland is still a powerhouse in this market segment. The country ranks first in terms of acreage and third in terms of production volume. However, retail prices of Polish potatoes are the lowest in the EU.
The Polish potato production is still very fragmented. Polish farms devote an average of 0.7 hectares to potatoes, with the EU average standing at 0.8 hectares. Of all EU countries, Romanian farms are the ones devoting the smallest acreage to the crop, with just 0.2 hectares; at the other extreme, we have Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, where crops are much more focused and on average take 20.6, 17.0 and 16.9 hectares, respectively.
Almost 20% of the EU’s potato production comes from Germany. The second largest producer is France (13.6%), and the third is Poland (12.6%). Interestingly, Poland is the country where the most potatoes are certified as organic.
Eurostat has also estimated the average prices per kilo paid in each country. In 2014, the price in Poland stood at just 30 cents per kilo, which is the lowest of all the countries where data could be collected. The best prices were paid in Belgium, Luxembourg, the UK and Italy.
The European Union is a net exporter of potatoes, but also seasonally imports them, mainly early varieties, with many of these coming from Israel and Egypt.
Fuente: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/158331/Poland-the-EU-country-with-the-most-potatoes-certified-organic
