Learn about the 10 largest potato producing and exporting countries in the world | Economy

Potatoes are not only a crop that many people depend on in their diets, but it can be said with ease that they are linked to political, economic and social dimensions, and have gradually become, in all their forms, a main dish on the tables of billions of people.

Potatoes are the fourth most important crop in the world, after rice, wheat and corn.

Top 10 Potato Producing Countries in the World

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations published a list of the world’s largest potato producing countries in 2022, as follows:

1. China: 95.57 million tons.
2. India: 56.17 million tonnes.
3. Ukraine: 20.9 million tons.
4. Russia: 18.9 million tons.
5. United States: 17.8 million tons
6. Germany: 10.68 million tons.
7. Bangladesh: 10.14 million tons.
8. France: 8 million tons.
9. Pakistan: 7.9 million tons.
10. Netherlands: 6.9 million tons.

Top 10 Arab Potato Producing Countries

These are the largest Arab potato producing countries for the year 2022 according to the FAO:

1. Egypt: 6.15 million tons.
2. Algeria: 4.3 million tons.
3. Morocco: 1.76 million tons.
4. Lebanon: 676 thousand tons.
5. Saudi Arabia: 605 thousand tons.
6. Syria: 557 thousand tons.
7. Sudan: 520 thousand tons.
8. Tunisia: 400 thousand tons.
9. Yemen: 336 thousand tons.
10. Libya: 321 thousand tons.

Top 10 Potato Exporting Countries in the World

The Bulgarian website Trend Economy, which specializes in statistics, published a list of the world’s largest potato exporting countries in 2022, according to revenues, as follows:

1. Netherlands: $955.2 million.
2. France: $840.2 million.
3. Germany: $469.5 million.
4. Canada: $427.5 million.
5. Egypt: $316 million.
6. USA: $303.6 million.
7. China: $248.7 million.
8. Pakistan: $213.7 million.
9. Belgium: $185 million.
10. United Kingdom: $171.1 million.

Top 10 Potato Importing Countries in the World

According to the same site, the list of the top 10 countries in the world importing potatoes in 2022 includes the following:

1. Belgium: $676 million.
2. USA: $413 million.
3. Spain: $379 million.
4. Netherlands: $337 million.
5. Germany: $236 million.
6. Italy: $215 million.
7. Egypt: $146.2 million.
8. France: $137.6 million.
9. Portugal: $131.5 million.
10. Malaysia: $100 million.

The largest Arab country exporting potatoes

According to the same site, the list of the largest Arab countries exporting potatoes in 2022 includes the following countries:

1. Egypt: $316 million.
2. Lebanon: $20.8 million.
3. UAE: $15 million.
4. Morocco: $13.6 million.
5. Oman: $2.4 million.
6. Jordan: $1.8 million.
7. Palestine: $1.5 million.
8. Bahrain: $29.8k.
9. Kuwait: $10.9 thousand.
10. Tunisia: $3.9 thousand.

The largest Arab countries importing potatoes

Here is a list of the largest Arab countries importing potatoes according to 2022 figures:

1. Egypt: $146.2 million.
2. UAE: $80.8 million.
3. Oman: $51.8 million.
4. Lebanon: $40.9 million.
5. Morocco: $36.1 million.
6. Qatar: $19.2 million.
7. Tunisia: $16.6 million.
8. Bahrain: $13.1 million.
9. Kuwait: $12.3 million.
10. Palestine: $8 million.

Potatoes and politics

In her book, The Politics of Potatoes, British historian Rebecca Earle lists some examples of the relationship between politics and this crop.

Earle, a food historian, said Nazi Germany used potatoes to reinforce nationalist sentiments.

She pointed out that the Nazi propaganda machine described the Germans as the “Potato People”, promoting the idea that eating this crop would make them increasingly German citizens.

During World War II, the US government issued guidelines stressing the benefits of including plenty of potatoes in everyone’s diet.

The US President said at the time Franklin Roosevelt “These guidelines are an attempt to allow Americans to make an informed decision.”

The Roosevelt administration used numerous platforms to promote these instructions through newspapers, radio, magazines, and promotional brochures, according to the historian.

facts

The Australian version of Yahoo Lifestyle published a report that includes interesting facts about potatoes, as follows:

• Potatoes are a member of the nightshade family, which also includes eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers.
• On average, the per capita consumption of potatoes worldwide is 33 kilograms per year.
• In 1995, potatoes became the first vegetable to be grown in space when seeds were germinated aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
• The Incan people of South America were the first to cultivate potatoes, dating back to 200 BC.
• The Spanish introduced potatoes to Europe following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the 16th century AD.
• The word “potato” comes from the Spanish word “patata”.
• In 1845 an outbreak of what was called “late blight” destroyed the potato crop in Ireland, leading to a great famine that is said to have killed over a million people and caused millions to emigrate.
• The heaviest potato was grown in 2010 by English farmer Peter Glazebrook, weighing 3.7 kilograms.
• Potatoes contain a toxic compound called solanine, which can reach toxic levels in green potatoes in rare cases, causing headaches, diarrhea, dizziness and death. However, solanine prevents certain cancer-causing chemicals from turning into carcinogens in the body and prevents metastasis. Studies on a certain type of leukemia cell have shown that solanine kills them at therapeutic doses.