The onion and potato harvest expected this year is approximately the same as last year, despite a very wet and then very dry period in the spring. This is evident from the provisional harvest estimate of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which also states that the sugar beet harvest will probably be lower.
The gross yield per hectare of so-called seed onions is estimated to be 7.4 percent lower this year than in 2022, but due to a larger cultivation area, the total expected seed onion harvest is still comparable to last year. According to Statistics Netherlands, 1.2 million tons of seed onions are harvested.
The number of harvested potatoes per hectare will remain virtually unchanged compared to last year. Farmers will harvest 3.6 million tons of potatoes for consumption, the statistics agency thinks.
The actual size of the harvest will only be known once the harvest year has ended. “Due to weather conditions, planting was later this year and there was a higher disease pressure in the potatoes, which could result in a larger crop failure than last year,” CBS said.
The sugar beet harvest is almost five percent lower than last year, although the sugar beet yield was higher than in previous years. The area in which sugar beets are harvested is comparable to last year.