A record amount of food and processed food potatoes was produced last summer, 452 million kilos. In mid-October, on-farm stocks of food potatoes amounted to 225 million kilos. However, by mid-January, on-farm stocks had dwindled at a faster rate than in the previous year, amounting to 132 million kilos on 15 January.

According to the Crop Production Statistics of Tike (the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), the food and processed food potato harvest totalled 452 million kilos last year, an improvement of 69 million kilos on the previous year. The large harvest was due to both the greater production area and the good yield. In autumn 2009, food potato stocks amounted to 225 million kilos, up 18 per cent on the previous year. However, stocks have been consumed at a significantly brisker rate than in the previous year, as in mid-January there were only 132 million kilos of food potatoes left in on-farm potato stocks, 6 per cent more than in the January of the previous year. 82 per cent of the stocks of food and processed food potatoes were located in the main production areas, that is, the areas of the Employment and Economic Development Centres of Ostrobothnia, Southern Ostrobothnia, Northern Ostrobothnia and Häme.

 According to the statistics of the Finnish Customs, exports were significantly higher in October-November 2009 than in the previous year. Potato exports in October-November amounted to about 2.9 million kilos, while exports a year earlier were just under a million kilos. In spite of the abundant harvest, 0.8 million kilos of potatoes were imported in October-November 2009; that said, imports in October-November 2008 amounted to as much as 6.7 million kilos.The major export destination for potatoes is Russia. Exports have maintained their momentum in the early year. Potatoes are now also sorted more stringently, which has contributed to the lower stocks of potatoes.

Background to the statistics
Tike’s Food Potato Storages statistics are based on the stocks as at 15 January 2010. The survey is carried out twice a year (15 October and 15 January). Data is collected as a sample survey of 400 farms that have a total of over two hectares under food or processed food potatoes. At the farms included in the survey, the area under food and processed food potatoes was 8 705 hectares. All in all, farms with over two hectares had a total of 14 333 hectares under food and processed food potatoes in 2009. The response rate was 84 per cent in both October and January.

For additional information, contact:
Anna-Kaisa Jaakkonen, Tike, tel. +358 20 77 21 374,
e-mail addresses are in the format forename.surname@mmmtike.fi