Spain (Tenerife): The weather is conducive to a good potato harvest.
After several years of drought and decline in both surface area and production, 2025 is expected to be quite satisfactory for the harvests thanks to the rain and suitable temperatures.
Leaving behind the critical years of declining potato acreage, this year looks very positive in terms of yield and production thanks to the rain and temperatures. Farmers now hope that this large potato production will benefit them and not affect the price.
The archipelago is having a difficult season due to a decrease in surface area of more than 36% from 2013 to 2023, as well as a decrease in production of more than 25%, from 104,643 tons to 78,304.
Estimate from February
Despite the drought of recent years, since last February—in the middle of the planting season—some farmers were already predicting a good campaign, given the increase in seed sales and the rainfall. "We believe both yield and production will be good, and this is important to combat imports," Manuel Reyes , president of the San Juan de la Rambla cooperative, told Atlántico Hoy in February.
The consecutive rainfall over the past few months has been very beneficial for crops, along with temperatures that are suitable for the season and without significant wind impact, especially with the passage of Storm Nuria.
"Let’s hope they keep the prices"
Sergio Rodríguez , of Frutas y Verduras Nito, tells Atlántico Hoy that this year’s harvest is looking good, although he points out that they can’t take it for granted until everything is harvested. In his area, they plant earlier, but the rain hasn’t allowed them to harvest. "Most likely, there will be too many potatoes at the market. Let’s hope it doesn’t affect prices and that farmers are paid a price commensurate with their work," he notes.
In fact, this Tuesday, the Canary Islands government launched the "Send yourself a potato, but make it Canarian" campaign to promote the consumption of local potatoes over imported products. The Canary Islands government estimated that the average price per kilo received by farmers for this production, of which approximately 78,000 tons were recorded in 2023, would remain above one euro in 2024.
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