The Director of the vegetable department of Fedeagro, Enmanuel Escalona, said that, according to the guild's estimates, Venezuela would harvest some 60,000 tons of potatoes this year.
This volume represents 10% of the national consumption, Escalona stated in an interview.
The initial prospects for 2016 -if the seeds arrived on time- were that this year's potato production would amount to 230,000 tons, i.e. "almost enough to supply half of the national demand."
The representative of Fedeagro said that the country had produced 110,000 tons of potatoes in 2015 and that, five years ago, the country was self-sufficient and even had to export its production.
Given the steady decline that the tuber has had, Escalona said that "unfortunately, it will be the fourth largest national consumption product that will disappear because of the wrong policies that Venezuela has had regarding seeds and agrochemicals for potato producer associations."
Source: elmundo.com.ve