The Actual Potato Harvest Volume in Ukraine in 2025 Remains Unknown

In 2025, the potato harvest in Ukraine increased due to favorable weather conditions and exceeded previous figures. However, precise data on total production remains unknown, as official statistics account for only a small portion of the market. According to Olga Samoylichenko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Potato Producers Association (UAPPA), the majority of potatoes are grown by unregistered farms.

This is reported by AgroReview

Prevalence of the Shadow Sector in Potato Production

According to data from the State Statistics Service, professional farmers planted 18 thousand hectares of potatoes this year, which is one-fifth more than last year. At the same time, UAPPA is convinced that the actual areas under this crop are at least twice as large. A significant portion of the harvest is provided by small farms that operate unofficially on plots of 1-5 hectares. This produce is mainly sold for cash at wholesale markets without tax payments.

“In 2023, out of 21 million tons of declared potatoes, only 422 thousand tons were accounted for in the official sector.”

Experts emphasize that unofficial producers often use uncertified seeds and save on plant protection products, which negatively affects the quality of the tubers. In 2025, it is expected that the official potato harvest will exceed 500 thousand tons, while the volume of the shadow sector could reach 10 million tons or more.

Storage and Processing Issues for Potatoes

In the professional sector, the average yield with irrigation is 20-30 tons per hectare for seed potatoes and 35-45 tons per hectare for table potatoes. However, the industry faces a severe shortage of storage facilities: the deficit of storage capacity exceeds 340 thousand tons. Each year, about 330-400 thousand tons of potatoes are used for processing in Ukraine, of which 80-100 thousand tons are used for chip production, while the remainder is used for starch production.