By Alena Bosse and Michael Boland, Kansas State University.

Revised September 2011 by Diane Huntrods, AgMRC, Iowa State University.

Overview
Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are the fourth most important food crop in the world and the leading vegetable crop in the United States. Together, Idaho and Washington produce more than half of the annual supply, which totaled 404.2 million cwt in 2010, down 7 percent from the previous year, and was valued at $3.5 billion, up 5 percent. The average price for all potatoes rose in 2010, while yield per acre declined.  (NASS 2011)

Nearly 60 percent of potato sales are to processors for french fries, chips, dehydrated potatoes and other potato products. The remainder goes to the fresh market, is fed to farm animals or re-used as seed tubers for growing the next season’s crop.  (NASS 2011)

History
Potatoes were first cultivated around 200 B.C. by the Inca Indians in Peru. At that time, potatoes served a wide variety of uses, such as healing broken bones and measuring time. Nearly 4,000 varieties can be found in the Andes.

The Spanish brought potatoes to Europe in the 16th century. European consumers were reluctant to adopt the potato. However, due to the sheer practicality of the potato—adaptability, generally plentiful crops and relatively long shelf life, combined with the nutritional value—it was soon widely accepted and consumed.

Potatoes were introduced to North America in 1691, and they are thought to have been first planted in New Hampshire in 1719. The first French fries were served some 80 years later at the White House during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.

Production
Potatoes remain the top vegetable crop in the United States. They are grown commercially in 30 states, but Idaho grows more potatoes than any other state, followed by Washington. Wisconsin, Colorado and North Dakota are also leading producers of potatoes. The following table provides 2010 production figures for these five states.

Top Five Potato Production States, 2010 (in thousand cwt).

Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, 2011.
 

In 2010 a total of 1.0 million acres of potatoes were harvested in the United States, down slightly from 2009. The average yield decreased to 401 cwt per acre, falling 13 cwt from last year's record high. With the average price increasing to $9.20 per cwt, the total value of the 2010 potato crop was $3.5 billion.  (NASS 2011) 

According to the FAO, potato production in developing countries exceeded production in developed countries for the first time in 2005. China is now the world's top potato producer, followed by India and Russia. The United States is the fourth largest producer of potatoes in the world.  (FAO 2009) 

Processing
A specific breakdown of U.S. potato use in 2010 is as follows:

• 149 million cwt were used in frozen potato products, including frozen fries, tater tots, spiral fries, homefries, wedges and frozen whole potatoes (down 7 percent from 2009).
• 107 million cwt were used for fresh potatoes, which includes baked, boiled or mashed (down 8 percent from 2009).
• 54.7 million cwt were used in chips, including shoestrings (up 29 percent from 2009)..
• 34.1 million cwt were dehydrated, including products for potato chips, mashed potatoes, potato pancake mix and some canned stews (down 23 percent from 2009).
• 20.6 million cwt went to seed (up 2 percent from 2009).
• 2.4 million cwt were canned, which would be used for small whole potatoes, corned beef hash, various stews, soups, chowders and commercial potato salad (down 14 percent from 2009).
• 593,000 cwt went to livestock feed (down from 6.5 million cwt in 2009).  (NASS 2011) 

In 2010, 81 plants processed potatoes into potato chips, a decline from the previous year. However, the total volume increased from 42.5 million cwt to 54.7 million cwt. The largest number of plants are located in the eastern United States, and they prepare the most potato chips.  (NASS 2011)

The Economic Research Service forecast for 2010 estimates that per person consumption of potatoes during 2010 totaled 112.9 pounds, a slight decrease from 2009. Per person consumption can be broken down into 49.3 pounds of frozen potatoes, 35.6 pounds of fresh potatoes, 14.8 pounds of potato chips, 12.5 pounds of dehydrated potatoes and less than 1 pound of canned potatoes. Consumption of fresh and frozen potatoes declined in 2010.

Exports
In 2010 the United States exported 1.6 billion pounds of potatoes and potato products with a total value of $3.8 billion, up 8 percent from the previous year. Of that volume, the United States exported 1.5 billion pounds of frozen fries that were valued at $775.7 million. The leading buyer of U.S. frozen potatoes was Japan, followed by Canada, China and Mexico. The United States also exported 808.4 million pounds of fresh potatoes, valued at $165.9 million, primarily to Canada and Mexico.  (FAS 2010)

Imports
A total of 2.8 billion pounds of potatoes and potato products valued at $2.7 billion were imported in 2010, relatively unchanged from 2009. Frozen fries accounted for 1.4 billion pounds, the bulk of potato imports, and were valued at $631.9 million. Fresh potatoes accounted for 762.9 million pounds of potato imports valued at $132.1 milliion. Canada remained the main source of both fresh and frozen potatoes.  (FAS 2010)

Outlook
In March 2009, Mexican officials imposed an average 20-percent tariff on various U.S. products exported to Mexico, including frozen potatoes. On August 18, 2010, the Mexican government released a revised set of targeted products and the tariff on U.S. frozen-potato products dropped to 5 percent. The reduction should help U.S. fryers regain market share lost to Canada as Mexican importers compare higher transportation costs for Canadian potato products with the cost of the tariff on U.S. potato products.  (ERS)

Federal officials are considering banning or limiting potatoes in federal child nutrition programs. Under an interim rule, USDA barred Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants from buying potatoes with federal dollars. The agency will roll out a final rule on the WIC program in 2011.

References
U.S. per Capita Food Availability, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA.

Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS), Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA, 2010.

New Light on a Hidden Treasure, FAO, United Nations, 2008.

Potatoes, Vegetable and Melons Outlook, ERS, USDA.

Potatoes Annual Summary, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA.

Vegetables and Melons Yearbook Data, ERS, USDA, 2011.