Germans harvest 1 million tons more potatoes than in 2023

The German Ministry of Agriculture estimates this year's harvest at almost 12.7 million tonnes. Half of that comes from the soil in Lower Saxony. Potato growers on the other side of the border near Groningen, Drenthe and part of Overijssel are harvesting an average of 45.4 tonnes per hectare this year. North Rhine-Westphalia is achieving the highest yields with 49 tonnes. With 45,900 hectares, this state has around 16 percent of the total area. The high yields raise the share in the total production to 17.7 percent. According to the provisional figures, the Germans are harvesting an average of 43.8 tonnes per hectare. This makes the yields comparable to last year. The area makes a big difference. This year, cultivation has expanded by 24,600 hectares to 289,300 hectares. That is a growth of 9.3 percent. France has already announced that it expects a very large potato harvest. The statistics service of the French ministry recently reported a forecast of 42.6 tonnes per hectare of ...