According to the Rhineland-Palatinate State Statistics Office, after the mixed potato harvests of the past three years, there was an above-average result in the current year 2021. Rhineland-Palatinate farmers harvested an average of 38 tons of potatoes per hectare.
This means the yield is six tons per hectare, or 19 percent higher than the previous year's result. The long-term average for 2015/2020 was exceeded by around four tons per hectare, or eleven percent. The total harvest volume amounts to approximately 274,000 tons. Compared to the previous year, 40,500 tons more potatoes were harvested.
Long-term yield level stable
According to the final results of the 2021 Land Use Survey, the area under cultivation is 7,100 hectares. This is slightly below the previous year's figure and on a par with the 2015/2020 multi-year average. In the long term, potato acreage is trending downward. In 2004, 8,900 hectares were still planted with 'Grumbeere', as the potato is also known in the main potato-growing region of the Palatinate. Since then, the area has declined by 20 percent. In the long term, yield levels have been relatively stable from year to year, apart from fluctuations due to weather conditions.
Source: Statistikamt RLP