Australian Natural Resources Atlas

Natural Resource Topics

Agriculture - National Horticulture Industry Profiles - Potatoes

Potatoes

Potatoes are the highest value horticultural crop grown for consumption in Australia. In 1996/97, the gross value of production was $489 m, or about 12% of the total value of Australian horticultural production. Four major companies process half of the total potato production, with 40% of the crop manufactured into French fries and 10% into crisps. Seed potato production is about 8% of the value of the total crop.

Major producing areas

Potatoes are produced in all States but not the Northern Territory. The main growing areas for fresh potatoes are in wet temperate coastal regions in northern Tasmania, Victoria and south-east South Australia. These areas have annual rainfall of 800-1000 mm, cool summers and relative freedom from frost (mean annual maxima of 18-20°C, minima 7-10°C). Despite the cool, wet climate, most crops are grown under irrigation. Seed potatoes are produced in Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales, with some recent developments in Western Australia.

Potato

Crops produced

Crop
1996/97		 Area
(ha)		 Production
(t)		 Value
($m)
Potatoes 41 080 1 286 130 448.5
Potatoes (seed) 4 360 107 530 40.8
Total 45 450 1 393 660 489.3
Percentage of total area Agro-ecological region

Major production regions

Region Agro-ecological region Area
(ha)		 Production
(t)		 Value
($m)		 % of total crop area
North West, Tas Wet temperate coasts 4 150 183 590 49.0 9
Lower South East, SA Wet temperate coasts 2 230 84 090 29.6 5
West Gippsland, Vic Wet temperate coasts 2 550 73 990 28.9 6
Murray Mallee, SA Temperate slopes & plains 2 040 72 080 25.4 5
Manjimup, WA Wet temperate coasts 1 470 68 240 22.3 3
East Central Highlands, Vic Temperate highlands 1 840 61 120 23.9 4
Gippsland, Vic Wet temperate coasts 2 070 51 650 20.2 5
North East, Tas Wet temperate coasts 1 130 45 020 12.0 3
Lockyer Valley, Qld Subtropical slopes & plains/ wet subtropical coast 1 730 40 590 18.4 4
Northern Midlands 700 28 930 7.7 2
Riverina 1 100 26 300 9.5 2
Production, production trends and exports

Production, production trends and exports

Potato production peaked in 1997/98 at almost 1.4 million tonnes. While exports of fresh potatoes have increased, they still represent only around 3% of production for the fresh market. In the five years to 1998/99, the major export markets for potatoes were Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. However, these markets accounted for just 57% of the volume and 53% of the value of total potato exports. While not within the top three, Mauritius is also a significant export market.

While export volumes of processed potatoes are considerably less than fresh exports, their value was only slightly less at around $8 m. The three largest export markets were Malaysia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, which together accounted for 60% of the volume and value of total processed exports. Apart from some processed potato products to New Zealand, Australia holds negligible market share in any market.

Industry contact

AusVeg: RMB 5307, Strathbogie, Victoria 3666;
telephone: (03) 5790 5247

Production and value data sources

Horticultural Research and Development Corporation 2000, Horticultural Productivity and Sustainability Project

Australian Bureau of Statistics 1996, AgStats 1996-97

National Land and Water Resources Audit 2000, non-agricultural land mask from 1:1 000 000 Landuse in Australia

Agriculture Fisheries Forestry - Australia 1996, Agro-ecological Regions of Australia

Horticultural Research and Development Corporation, Australian Horticultural Corporation, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics 2000, Australian Horticulture in the Global Environment

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