Potatoes have become an important food crop in Europe and have spread to China, and potatoes have only been introduced to China for more than three hundred years. In the 21st century, China's potato cultivation area ranked second in the world. Potatoes are highly productive, nutritious and adaptable to the environment and are now found all over the world.
1. Potato planting area
The potato is an important cash crop to raise farmers' incomes, especially in less developed hilly areas. Since 2018, China's potato sown area has been floating around 4750 thousand hectares, and in 2020, China's potato sown area will reach 4789.5 thousand hectares. The China Commercial Industry Research Institute expects china's potato sowing area to reach 4753.3 thousand hectares in 2021.
Data source: China Starch Industry Association, China Commercial Industry Research Institute collation
Second, potato yield
Since 2016, China's potato unit production has gradually increased, from 3536.9 kg/ha to 3926.1 kg/ha. The China Commercial Industry Research Institute expects China's potato production per unit to reach 4020.2 kg/ha in 2021.
Potato production
At present, China's potato producing areas have basically formed four major potato advantage areas, such as the Three North Single Cropping Area, the Central Plains Intercropping Area, the Southern Winter Cropping Area, and the Southwest Mixed Cropping Area.
1. Sanbei Single Cropping Zone: This area accounts for 50% of the total potato area in China. The potatoes produced in this region are mainly used for seed potatoes, fresh food and processed consumption. Potatoes in the region are usually grown in late April to early May and harvested from September to October. The provinces mainly covered are Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Ningxia, Shanxi and Shaanxi.
2. Southwest mixed cropping area: This area accounts for 37% of the total potato area in China. The potatoes produced in this region are mainly used for fresh food consumption. Potatoes in this area are usually planted from September to November and harvested from February to April of the following year. The region includes Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Chongqing, and parts of Hunan and Hubei.
3. Central Plains intercropping area: This area accounts for 8% of the total potato area in China. Spring potatoes are planted from February to March and harvested in May or June. Autumn potatoes are planted from July to August and harvested from October to November. The potatoes produced in this region are mainly used for export and fresh food consumption. The region includes Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong and Henan.
4. Southern winter farming area: This area accounts for 5% of the total potato area in China. Potatoes in the region are planted from October to November and harvested in February and March of the following year. Potatoes in the region are mainly used for export and fresh food consumption. The district includes Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi and Hainan provinces.
Data source: Compiled by China Commercial Industry Research Institute
Thanks to improved field management techniques and the spread and application of detoxified seed potatoes, potato production will increase by an average of 2.5 per cent per year. Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan are major potato producing provinces, accounting for about 60% of the total fresh potato production.
In 2019, China's potato production was 18.28 million tons, with a growth rate of 2.8%. The China Commercial Industry Research Institute expects potato production to reach 18.54 million tons, an increase of 1.5%.
Fourth, potato demand
China's total potato consumption is largely stable, but is expected to grow slightly over the next decade. Industry insiders estimate that 60% of China's potatoes are used for fresh food consumption at home or in restaurants. This has not changed from a few years ago, as the potato is still a staple food for Chinese consumers. The China Commercial Industry Research Institute expects China's potato demand to reach 162.48 million tons in 2025.
The annual per capita consumption of potatoes in China is far lower than the level of European and American countries, and the consumption structure is single, mainly for fresh vegetables, French fries and so on. Due to the short preservation time of fresh potatoes, in order to truly serve as a staple food, we should accelerate the development of staple food products such as potato steamed buns and noodles, and promote the process of industrialization.
For more information, please refer to the "Research Report on China's Potato Market Prospects and Investment Opportunities" released by the China Commercial Industry Research Institute, and the China Commercial Industry Research Institute also provides industrial big data, industrial intelligence, industrial research reports, industrial planning, park planning, 14th Five-Year Plan, industrial investment attraction and other services.