Uruguay: Potatoes conclude a spring season with higher production levels and high stocks
The area planted with potatoes for the 2025 fall season was 2,138 hectares. Production was very good and was estimated at 56,468 tons, with an average yield of 26.4 tons per hectare. This yield was 20% higher than the previous season.
The "Spring 2025" Potato Survey, released by the Agricultural Statistics Office (DIEA) of the MGAP, indicates that the autumn harvest reached a planted area of 2,138 hectares and an estimated production of 56,468 tons, with an average yield of 26.4 t/ha, a volume that exceeds the previous campaign by 20% and reflects the recovery of the crop after the difficulties in the supply of seed observed last year.
The report also confirms that irrigated planting accounted for 69% of the area, a factor that contributed to the good yield performance. At the close of the harvest, 15,316 tons, equivalent to 27% of the harvest, remained in storage for commercial purposes. Of this, 96% is kept in cold storage, safeguarding the quality of a product for which physical preservation is a key component for its commercial distribution. Looking ahead to the 2025/26 spring-summer season, producers declared a planting intention of 1,048 hectares, a figure virtually unchanged from the previous cycle. With 95% of the area already planted at the time of the survey, only 56 hectares remain to be sown.
For this planting, 2,803 tons of seed were used, with an average density of 2.67 t/ha, and it is noted that 95% of that seed was of own production, which confirms the self-sufficiency of a large part of the national seed system.
The planting schedule also shows a limited distribution over time: 37% of the area corresponds to early crops, 55% to mid-season plantings, and 8% to late plots. This concentration in early and mid-season planting windows facilitates harvest planning and marketing logistics, but it also leaves the crop subject to the evolution of weather conditions during the crucial weeks.
Looking ahead, the announced intention for the autumn 2026 harvest amounts to 2,289 hectares, a projected increase of 7% compared to the previous season.
To address this scenario, producers estimate the acquisition of 1,516 tons of imported seed, although they currently report having 6,176 tons stored for seed, a volume that exceeds the anticipated requirements and suggests that a portion - estimated at around 1,000 tons - could ultimately be allocated to the consumer market instead of being replanted.
These figures, the report clarifies, are preliminary and will be subject to revision in the Fall 2026 Survey.
Fuente: diariocambio.com.uy
