POTATO STATISTICS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 94, 14 January 1939, Page 4 (Supplement)

POTATO STATISTICS

Last Season’s Returns

RECORD YIELD AN ACRE

Last season 23,090 acres of potatoes were grown in the Dominion. This covers areas of one acre or more outside borough boundaries. This area yielded 140,785 tons, of which 100,137 tons were table, 31,900 tons were, seed, and 14,750 tons were pig potatoes. Compared with the previous year, the table yield was up by 12,600 tons. Last season’s crop was the best for seven years. In 1930-31 an area of 28.459 acres was grown for a gross yield of 151,525 tons. Last year’s crop was the heaviest to the acre ever recorded, at 0.36 tons an acre for table, seed and pig varieties. The actual table yield was 4 1-3 tons an acre. One hears much of the big crops of eight. 10 and 12 tons of tables an acre, but there must be a vast acreage yielding only thre or 3} tons. The actual table crop over two seasons past has been ISS.OOO tons. Of that almost 20,000 tons was exported in the first season, and 20,000 could have been shipped again last season. That means that local consumption required only 145.000 tons, or 74,000 tons a year. New Zealand consumes, therefore, 6000 tons a month, and that is the measure of the market. We eat about 1001 b. a head annually. Thus a city like Palmerston North requires only 1100 tons of potatoes a year, fewer than 100 tons a month. Growing Areas. Canterbury grew more than 60 per eeut. of last season’s supply, and the South Island as a whole 771 per cent. The North Island grew just 22| per cent., 22,400 tons. That was under half its .needs, so 27,000 tons of southern pota’toes had to be “imported” to this island. The Wellington province grew 60 per cent, of the North Island tonnage, providing 13,082 tons of table potatoes.