Planted area in Great Britain by potato variety and sector in 2019

The total 2019 planted Great Britain area (revised estimate) is 118.95K ha. This updated estimate puts the area 1% higher than last year and represents the GB area covered by over 90% of producers.

Although the revised estimate shows a slight increase year-on-year this remains one of the lowest on record. Much of the increase seen in area has been from small growers increasing their area, a decision likely driven in part by the high priced year of 2018.

The top ten most widely grown varieties account for over 40% of the overall GB area planted to potatoes, as it did last year.

Although the top 3 most grown varieties have held their positions, there has been some interesting changes. Maris Piper has bucked its downward trend (with an exception in 2016), showing an increase of 6.5% from 2018 plantings.

Piper accounts for 13.5% of the GB planted potato area this year at 16.1Kha. There has been a shift in the amount of Piper grown on contract for retail compared to free-buy, up 27% compared to last year and up 43% compared to the 4-year average (2015-2018 plantings).

In contrast, Maris Peer, although retaining 3rd position, has fallen year-on-year. This brings the total GB area planted to Maris Peer to the lowest since 2010. There has been reports that demand for salad potatoes has been dropping slightly and this could be some of the driver.

Also Maris Peer is being replaced by newer varieties such as Jazzy, experiencing over 21% increase in planted area.