Potato Production Canada harvest 2010 down 4%

The preliminary production estimate for the 2010 Canadian potato crop is 97,279,000 hundredweights (4 412 575 tonnes).

This is down 4% from last year’s revised production.

Area planted was set at 356,700 acres (144 356 hectares), down 4%, while area harvested is estimated down 5% at 344,000 acres (139 217 hectares).

British Columbia experienced the largest decrease in production, down 48%. Close to half of the planted area was not harvested due to extreme weather conditions during harvest. Saskatchewan showed the next greatest decrease, down 22%, due to both area and yield decreases. Ontario’s production was up 4% because of an increase in the area planted.

For the second year in a row, the value of the Canadian potato crop broke the billion dollar mark to come in at $1.1 billion. This is down from the record $1.2 billion crop for 2008. The average value on all potatoes sold, consumed, seeded or fed to livestock was $11.61/cwt., compared to $11.98 the previous year.