Chinese potato production to fall 3% in 2018/19

The world’s largest potato producer, China, is seeing its farmers shift to corn as a result of low potato prices. Accounting for around 25% of global fresh potato production, China’s 2018/19 fresh potato production is expected to drop 3% to 94 million tons. Meanwhile, processed potatoes and frozen french fry (FFF) production will jump 15% to 290,000 tons, due to added FFF processing capacity. China’s FFF imports are expected to fall 10% to 115,000 tons as a result of the additional tariffs placed on US exports to China, reduced European supply, and growing domestic FFF production. The changes in production come just two years after many Chinese farmers switched from corn to potatoes, pulses, and other smaller commodities. It appears that the bumper 2017/18 harvest pushed down potato prices, prompting many farmers in northeast China to switch back to corn.