Ban on Ukrainian potatoes in Europe persists due to misleading statistics

"This situation arose due to the spread of inaccurate information claiming that Ukraine is capable of producing 22 million tons of potatoes," explained Ihor Shkurko, a candidate of economic sciences and the head of PJSC Chernihiv Elite Potato Research Institute.

"Such figures would mean that every fourth railcar or grain truck would be loaded with potatoes. That’s simply not the case. If 3 million tons were grown this year, that’s already a good result. In regular years, production is around 5-6 million tons," Shkurko said.

He also noted that potato farming in private households has significantly declined, and many small-scale growers who cultivated one hectare of potatoes have stopped production.

"The ongoing war, labor shortages, and other challenges will keep production low next year," Shkurko added.

He believes the inflated figure of 22 million tons, which places Ukraine as the fourth-largest potato producer globally, has alarmed other players in the global market. This has contributed to the imposition of quarantine restrictions, effectively blocking Ukrainian potatoes from entering European markets.