Potato exports from Chile decrease by 54.4%

Chile's potato exports totaled $ 1.4 million between January and October 2021, which is 54.4% lower than the same period of the previous year. During this term, exports of fresh potatoes and those prepared without freezing decreased mainly.

Imports until October 2021 reached $ 115 million, which means an increase of 60.9% compared to the previous year. The frozen prepared potato is the main imported product and shows an increase of 82.1% in this period.

The study of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) of October 2021 shows a slight decrease of 1.19% in the surface for the 2021/22 season, totaling 35.898 hectares. In terms of production volume, a 2.8% increase is projected, with the average yield of the last two seasons.

According to the analysis carried out by INE in agreement with Odepa, the area planted with annual and industrial crops for the 2020/21 season totaled 36.329 hectares for potatoes, which means a decrease of 17.7% compared to the previous year.

However, many farmers pointed out that there is no significant variation in the area compared to last season and that the current harvest showed good yields in irrigated crops and slightly lower in dry areas.

According to the 2020/21 regional results, the regions with the highest potato production were Los Lagos with 377,806 tons and La Araucanía with 209,526. The highest yields were achieved in Los Ríos with 49 tons per hectare and Los Lagos, with 43.2 tons per hectare.

source: portalportuario.cl

photo: marcachile.com