BRITAIN'S POTATO harvest is estimated to be up 2.8% on last year's figure, despite wet weather challenges.

The total harvest of British potatoes this year will be 5.3 million tonnes according to provisional estimates – just below the five-year average of 5.4m tonnes.

Figures from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board have been released after an exceptionally wet harvest period for the second year running.

Growers have fared better than last year, as on November 10, it was estimated that 2% of the planted area was yet to be lifted. This compares with 11% of the crop that was estimated to be unlifted on November 12, 2019.

Senior analyst at AHDB, Alice Bailey, commented: “This overall net yield sits in line with the five-year national average (2015-2019). Anecdotal reports suggest that yields have been somewhat variable from farm to farm, even field to field. Yet overall, crops are within farm expectations so it is not surprising that the national yield is in line with recent years," she continued.

“We saw planted area drop by 2.3% this year, yet we are estimating a 2.8% rise in production. This is based on both a slight increase in yields year-on-year and the fact that a large area was left unharvested last year. The unlifted area in 2019 was estimated at 6%, whereas in 2018 less than 1% was estimated to be left in the ground and we would anticipate similar this year.”

Meanwhile, Potatoes Strategy Director Rob Clayton announced that AHDB would be launching another promotional campaign in reaction to the market conditions caused by the coronavirus. This follows on from a similar campaign in the summer that reached five million shoppers via catch-up TV, social media and display advertising.

“Since the pandemic hit we have increased the amount of data we analyse from supermarkets and other areas of the marketplace," he said. "While potato sales at retail are up 8 to 9% overall – analysis from Kantar Worldpannel shows baking potatoes lagging behind at a rise of 3%.

“Jacket potatoes are a fantastic healthy and cost effective option for families, so we will be launching a winter campaign to inspire shoppers to take advantage of all the great things they can do with bakers” said Dr Clayton.