Cuba: Cuban potato harvest to reach record lows this year
Last week, the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture recognized that the national potato production will not cover the internal demand in 2022.
Best case scenario it will be at last year’s levels. Potato consumption in Cuba in 2019 was 151,668 tons, of which 35,272 were imported from the Netherlands and Canada; 2019 is the last year for which international statistics are available since there are no national data.
Industry expert Enel Espinosa stated that the estimated harvest for this year is 116,396 tons, which falls “far short from national demand.” Of the area dedicated to this crop, 56% was planted “outside the ideal calendar,” mainly due to lack of inputs,” which will make it difficult to meet the objectives.
According to data from the National Statistics and Information Office (Onei), this objective is similar to the harvest obtained in 2020 (115,385 tons), the last year for which there is a record, and which was the worst year since 2017. If the official projection is achieved, it would be the fourth worst result of the potato harvest since 2000.
Fuente: https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9412216/cuban-potato-harvest-to-reach-record-lows-this-year/
