The FEPEX Potato Committee held a meeting in Madrid, where it analysed the prospects for the 2015 campaign, in which the cultivated acreage in all producing regions is expected to drop by an average of 20%, and agreed to organise a campaign to promote consumption in the domestic market which should contribute to the sector's recovery.
From a total of 75,774 hectares in 2014, the acreage this campaign will drop to around 60,000 hectares. The decline is expected to affect all regions, with significant variations depending on the area.
This acreage will be a record low for the crop; something which the members of the FEPEX Potato Committee consider extremely worrying. It has also been observed that producers who abandon potatoes don't go back, and that this is not offset by increases in the acreage in the farms that remain.
The associations that form the Committee agreed to organise a promotional campaign intended to boost potato consumption, as they consider this may significantly contribute to the sector's recovery. The campaign will be funded entirely by the industry and presented at the next meeting of the Spanish Potato Forum, scheduled for April.
Household potato consumption dropped by 2.6% in 2014, to a total of approximately 1,028,000 tonnes. Spanish potato imports in 2014 amounted to 623,506 tonnes, 6.7% less than in 2013, and the value stood at 152.1 million Euro (-34.6%). In January 2015, imports totalled 76,087 tonnes, worth 13 million Euro, which is a 4% drop in volume and 42% in value.