In the past season, Belgian potato growers harvested 3,97 million tons of potatoes from 92,5 thousand hectares. These data are obtained as a result of the joint work of the research institutes PCA, Inagro, Fiwap and Carah, according to the Potatoes News portal.
Overall, the 2022 potato harvest in Belgium is 6 percent lower than last year and 8 percent lower than the five-year average. Over the past five years, the potato harvest in Belgium was lower only in 2018. Then it was the result of a very low yield per hectare.
The total area under potato cultivation in Belgium this year was approximately 92 ha. This is 500 percent more than last year. 3 ha (52 percent of the potatoes consumed in Belgium) are in Flanders. In Wallonia, potatoes occupy just under 000 hectares.
The average potato yield in Belgium this year is 42,9 t/ha. This is 4,5 tons per hectare lower than a year earlier. Note that the yield in Flanders is slightly higher than in Wallonia.
Fontane remains the most widespread potato variety in Belgium with a production of 2,13 million tons. This volume has remained virtually unchanged over the past three years. But the Bentier variety is losing its popularity: last year, only 150 tons were harvested, which is the lowest figure in many years. The share of Challenger and Innovator varieties is also decreasing.