THE POTATO
Fried, baked, boiled, sliced, mashed: the potato somehow is always present in our menu, tickling the appetite of young an old. The production of potatoes is rising everywhere, thanks to the success of this special tubers and to the infinite way in which they can be cooked and enjoyed without losing their organoleptic qualities.
The etymology of the word potato derives from batata, a Caribbean word that actually refers to the sweet potato.
The origins of the potato go back to more than 4000 years ago, between Chile and Peru, where the populations of the Andean Mountains already cultivated and enjoyed it. Thanks to a long experience in the cultivation and to the production of potatoes, these populations made up a considerable set of potato varieties that are suitable to almost any world climate and therefore contribute to an increase of the trade of potatoes on a worldwide scale. Potatoes arrived in Europe around 1570 thanks to the Spanish, who carried some potato varieties on merchant ships coming back from the New World; nearly after fifty years potatoes were known also in England and Ireland, where they were immediately used in the diet of poor people as they were considered to be a poor food.
Also the long life of potatoes after the harvesting encouraged the employment of this tuber in the diet and its trade, in a period when it was very difficult to store food and dishes for long time.
The French instead were more reluctant and did not use potatoes in their diet, believing that the potato caused leprosy: the production of potatoes and the consumption of potatoes spread also in France only thanks to the chemist Parmentier, who tested the beneficial properties of the potato during the Seven Years’ War when he was prisoner of the Prussians.
The United States are, on the contrary, an odd case: there, the potato became known only after the exportation of potatoes from Ireland, despite the fact that the production of potatoes took place just in the American continent.
The botanical name of the potato is Solanum tuberosum and it is a herbaceous plant from the Solanaceae family, to which belong thousand of species, among which tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and the tobacco plant.
The underground part of the plant is formed by the roots and by runners that can be more or less extended, at the ends of which come up the tubers commonly called potatoes; just the latter are the product for which usually the potato is cultivated. Both the flesh and the skin can have different colours depending on the variety. The tubers have buds in a spiral disposition, while the aerial part is formed by one or more stems. The potato flowers are bell-shaped, their colours range from white to violet and the fruits are green or yellow berries that contain many seeds.
Visit our website www.zipmec.eu and look up for the list of potatoes’ farms on the most wide and up to date database for fruits and vegetables.
See also:
- Varieties
- The plant and the production of POTATOES
- Organic potatoes
- Producers, farms, import/export of POTATOES
THE PRODUCTION OF POTATOES
Among fruits and vegetables, potatoes are almost considered a primary food, increasingly important everywhere in the world, because they provide important nutritional elements for our health, such as fibres, iron, potassium and vitamins B and C. In addition, they are fat-free and low-calorie, but taste good. The UN, aware of the great potential of potatoes in the fight against hunger and poverty, declared the 2008 the International Year of the Potato.
The expected reduction of water resources in future decades puts the production of potatoes and the distributors of potatoes in a favourable position compared to the other main food cultivations as to the production of dry material, proteins and energy, fuelling the potato trade worldwide.
The potato is grown in a very wide geographical area, as it is cultivated up to a latitude of 70° North and at more than 1,500 metres of altitude. Because of the large number of potato varieties, they can be easily grown in diverse climate conditions all over the world; the potato plant adapts well to different climates and habitats; the potato can therefore be produced and cultivated in very diverse areas and at different latitudes, changing only the period and the method of cultivation of the specific potato variety. As for the potato cultivation, optimal temperature are in the 15° and 20° range, depending on the phenological phases.
The potato is rightfully present in the fruit and vegetable world market and, apart from Italy and Europe, where more than 6 million hectares of land are under potato cultivation, also Asia (5,5 million hectares cultivated) and South America (1 million hectares cultivated) occupy an important position in the production and distribution of potatoes.
The production of potatoes and the trade of potatoes worldwide is around 300 million tonnes. The main producers and distributors of potatoes are Russia, Poland, China, Germany, the United States, India and the Netherlands. In Italy the annual production of common potatoes is around 1,500,000 tonnes, cultivated on about 6,000 hectares of land. The 45% of the entire potato production comes from three regions, Campania (22%), Emilia Romagna (12%) and Abruzzo (11%). Other important regions for this cultivation are Lazio, Veneto and Calabria.
Also the attention to the most successful varieties and the renewal in potato varieties, thanks to the introduction on the fruit and vegetable market of the organic potato, favoured producers and therefore distributors of potatoes in the cultivation of this tuber.
Many potato varieties have a PGI certification, such as the Montese potato, cultivated on the Appennino Emiliano.
The sector of potatoes worldwide has to face nowadays many different aspects, such as changes in consumers diets and a growing tendency to prefer prepared foods and a safe lifestyle.
The supermarket chains and the potato processing industry are increasing their influence, the competition rises and consumers ask for a traceable and sustainable production; another important aspect is the raise in acres of lands dedicated to other cultivations, such as those used for the production of energy. Finally there are factors related to climate change and to better communication possibilities.
The producers of potatoes constantly face the challenge to give an answer to those developments by trading new potato varieties to satisfy the customer wishes, thus resulting in the success of the trade of potatoes and of the import/export of potatoes all over the world.
See also:
Varieties
There are many potato varieties all over the world: they are classified depending on their employment (consumption, potato processing for the industry), the tuber's characteristics (shape, colour, skin appearance, flesh colour) and the growth cycle duration.
Among the potato varieties cultivated and distributed on the fruit and vegetable market, we will here describe the most popular: the Monalisa potato, the Spunta potato, the Primura potato, the Arsy potato, the Sirco potato, the Agata potato, imported and exported all over the world, together with the new potatoes Aminca, Alcmaria, Spunta and Nicola.
As to potatoes for industry, there are mainly the Hermes potato in the North, the Agria in the Centre and the Lady Rosetta in the South. Among the yellow skin varieties, the most well-known potato varieties traded in Italy are the Monalisa, the Spunta, the Primura, the Agata, the Liseta, the Lutetia and the Arsy.
The differentiation of potatoes depending on their white or yellow flesh is quite recent and comes from the French, who are still torn about the choice of the best variety for the popular frites. To this two varieties we have to add New Potatoes and the red potato.
The white flesh potato, produced and traded mainly in Italy, is round and can come from both Naples or Como: it is a quite floury potato, which is suitable especially for the preparation of mashed potatoes, flans and any other dishes for which potatoes have to be crushed.
There is also the yellow flesh potato, more firm and hard, quite adaptable; for the particular composition and texture of the flesh, which retains humidity, yellow skin potatoes are perfect to be cooked in the oven or in pans, to be baked or boiled. Among the yellow skin varieties, the most popular in Italy are the Adora, the Almera, the Lady Chrystl, the Lady Claire, the Lady Felicia, the Monalisa, the Spunta, the Primura, the Agata, the Liseta, the Lutetai, the Juliette, the Marine, the Aida and the Arsy.
The Adora potato has big round-oval shaped tubers with a light yellow skin and flesh: the sprouts are quite in surface. This potato stands high temperature, when cooked it does not mashes and the colour does not change; therefore, it is perfect to be both boiled or fried. The Adora potato is present on the fruit and vegetable market between May and October and it is imported and exported all over the world.
The Lady Claire potato is perfect for the processing industry of potatoes. It can be stored up to ten months and therefore is present on the fruit and vegetable market during all the year. The quality and the taste of this potato variety do not change even after a long storage. The Lady Claire variety is stable and it is not susceptible to bruises or to mechanical damages due to the processing of potatoes or to the import/export of potatoes in crates.
The Lady Felicia variety is a yellow flesh potato with a perfect aromatic taste. The tubers of its plant are almost hard when cooked. It is present on the fruit and vegetable market during all the year and it is particularly linked to the wholesaling of potatoes, thanks to its storage capacity. The skin is very attractive and therefore this potato is perfect to be washed and then packaged in bags for the retailing of potatoes.
The Lady Christl is instead a potato variety produced for the industry trade: it extraordinary for its qualities, among which we count its optimal hardness when cooked. The tubers are long and form an oval shape, they have a beautiful, smooth skin, perfect to be washed. It is a potato variety perfect to be eaten and it is wholesaled, imported and exported worldwide.
The Almera variety is a semi-early potato variety, with a light yellow flesh, good to be consumed fresh. Its plant produces oval and long-oval tubers, with sprouts in surface, yellow skin and produces a great number of medium sized potatoes, with a medium percentage of dry material.
Finally the Juliette variety produces potatoes that have to be consumed fresh, with long medium sized tubers and yellow skin and flesh. It is a potato variety with high cooking qualities thanks to its hard flesh that is suitable well to be boiled or steamed, thus being very valued by German and English markets, where it is exported.
The red potato, less famous, but not less important, has a salty and considerable taste, good for any kind of preparation and particularly recommended to be sautéed or to be baked. The most popular red potato varieties are the Asterix potato, the Lady Rosetta (it is a tasty potato, with round and uniform tubers, that produces good potatoes. This potato reaches its dry material and sugar contents very early during the season. It is excellent if it is immediately delivered from the field and the stocks to the processing industry, that will provide for the wholesaling of potatoes or for the retailing on the fruit and vegetable market), the Kuroda potato and the Cherie potato.
The Kuroda potato is instead a semi-late variety, with yellow flesh and red skin, particularly good to be consumed fresh or to be fried. Its tubers are oval and its sprouts are quite on surface: each plant produces few quite big-sized tubers. It can be cultivated on any kind of soil, even though on heavy soils the production of potatoes might be reduced.
The Cherie potato is a good variety to be consumed fresh, with an early growth cycle and a high productivity. Its tubers are deep red, with a long shape, very regular and have a yellow flesh. The flesh is hard and has a decent level of dry material, that makes these potatoes good to prepare gnocchi, croquettes and fried potatoes. The Cherie variety is traded in small packages (1.5 – 2.5 Kg).
Finally there are the New Potatoes: this variety is harvested unripe and therefore it is available during all the year, it is extensively cultivated, imported and exported all over the world by wholesalers of potatoes and farms; New potatoes' flesh is delicate and they are usually baked or boiled.
It is quite simple to find the most suitable potato variety for our tastes: first of all it is necessary to determine the qualities that it has to satisfy, considering the local cultivation conditions, the potato sales expected on the fruit and vegetable market and what it will be used for; thus you will obtain several characteristics that your potato will have to meet.
Each variety has of course specific characteristics that we will report you below as advice for the buyer.
The most important characteristic of the table potato is for example a good consumption quality, that is a good behaviour and resistance when the potato is cooked, together with a good taste. You have to consider also the productivity of the potato variety and the distribution of the potato on the fruit and vegetable market, but when choosing the suitable variety you have to consider the resistance to diseases, in particularly to the potato late blight, to viral diseases and to nematodes.
Furthermore, an increasingly importance is given to the aspect of the tuber, as potatoes are prepared for the direct sale in supermarkets as a product already washed and packed, ready for consumption (or sometimes you can find them among the ready-prepared fresh vegetable, such as salads, maize, potatoes, beans, carrots, tomatoes, etc. usually available in the refrigerator case of supermarkets) or they are wholesaled in crates where consumers can assess each potato.
As to the potato processing industry, we need to distinguish between fried potatoes and potato puffs, as they have different qualities.
In general the productivity and the resistance to diseases and pests are of great importance also for potatoes that are going to be processed or distributed, but there are also other important qualities, such as the tuber's shape, the dry material content, a low sugar percentage and the percentage of big-sized tubers in the potato variety taken into consideration.
Finally, as to the production of potato starch, this industry has developed in the last decades from a seasonal to a permanent processing industry, that can give to the fruit and vegetable trade a bigger and constant quantity of the product. Apart from the highest yield of potato starch per hectare, the storage capacity of the product has become particularly important in the choice of the suitable potato variety for the processing of potatoes and for the fruit and vegetable trade.
See also:
- THE POTATO
- The plant and the production of POTATOES
- Organic potatoes
- Producers, farms, import/export of POTATOES
Organic potatoes
The organic cultivation of potatoes is considered easier as all the other cultivations that need to be earthed up and fruits and vegetables in general, also thanks to phytosanitary products that help to protect the plants; the organic farming aims at prevention and acts especially with the purpose to control, reduce or eliminate cultivation problems by improving soil fertility: soil reclamation, to reduce water stagnation and rotations, to hold back weeds and pests and to increase the content of organic substances are essential agronomical practices for a more correct and easier production of organic potatoes.
Nowadays more attention is given to organic potatoes in the sector of the production and the distribution of potatoes, result of a non-invasive agriculture that does not uses chemical products on plants to remove pests and diseases.
Nowadays, the producer of organic potatoes is a careful farmer who respects the environment and gets many opportunities that help to produce a more natural product that is not processed with chemical products and that is more respectful of the environment: these specific treatments permit to the farms which produce organic potatoes to be granted a certification that has a special trademark which qualifies the organic characteristics of the product.
The modern consumer in fact considers more important the organic farming and, for this reason, supermarket chains in Europe lay down conditions to suppliers and distributors of potatoes as to the employment of certain substances as confirmed by GLOBALGAP directives.
Any type of fertilizers or pesticides are used in the cultivation of organic potatoes. Since 2002 European organic potatoes have been marked with a specific trademark which indicates the organic treatment, the cultivation and the processing of the organic potatoes.
Also in this case there are many varieties of organic potatoes, attractive and tasty: the yellow skin potato Agata, Ambra, Imola, Cosmos, Escort, Merit and the red skin potato Kuroda and Raja are typical examples of the production of organic potatoes, later wholesaled by wholesalers, farms and salespersons through the fruit and vegetable trade.
Many farmers and wholesalers of potatoes and other fruit and vegetable products are committed in a more correct and responsible agriculture, protecting potatoes and the other products in trade without employing chemical additives or pesticides.
Also the consumer has actually become more aware and sensitive to organic products, first of all to organic potatoes, present on the fruit and vegetable market during all the year thanks to the production, the distribution, the sale and the exportation done by farms, producers of organic potatoes, wholesalers who sale potatoes for the direct consumption or for the processing of the potatoes in the food industry.
The MEC Ortofrutticolo catalogue shows a list of farms of potatoes and wholesalers of potatoes who sell, retail, import and export potatoes all over the world. You can also choose among farms who trade in potatoes to sow or for consumption.
See also:
- Varieties
- THE POTATO
- The plant and the production of POTATOES
- Producers, farms, import/export of POTATOES
Producers, farms, import/export of POTATOES
Nowadays there are many farms and agricultural entrepreneurs who work in the sector of the processing of potatoes, in the fruit and vegetable trade or in the sector of vegetable sale, among which stands out the production of potatoes. These farms usually have a EU certification for the production of potatoes and other fruits and vegetables.
Thanks to our yearbooks FruitNEWSLETTER and MEC Ortofrutticolo (and their digital versions) you can easily contact fruit and vegetable farms or obtain information about them. In particular you can find a list of farms who:
- produce potatoes (certified farms for potatoes, farms that produce specific and unique varieties of potatoes, fruit and vegetable farms in general, farms who produce organic potatoes)
- deal with the trade of potatoes, who are retailers of potatoes, wholesalers of potatoes, importers of potatoes, exporters of potatoes and operators who deal with the wholesaling of potatoes
Furthermore, as to this specific cultivation, very important in the world of fruit and vegetable farms, we give you the opportunity to access zipmec.eu, the biggest search engine for fruit and vegetable farms all over the world, where you can obtain information on:
- farms who produce potatoes
- certified farms for the production of potatoes
- producers of unique potato varieties
- farms who produce organic potatoes
- farms that deal with the trade of potatoes
- retailers of potatoes
- wholesalers of potatoes
- importers of potatoes
- exporters of potatoes
- operators who deal with the wholesaling of potatoes
Zipmec.eu is easily accessible and always up-to-date.
It is list of farms for the production of potatoes, the retailing of potatoes, the sale of potatoes, the import/export of potatoes, the wholesaling of potatoes, and in general of any farm active on the fruit and vegetable market that is involved in potatoes’ production.
Apart from farms involved in the sector of potatoes, of course you can find also lists and information of any farm of the world fruit and vegetable market.
See also:
The MEC Ortofrutticolo describes a lot of potato varieties: for each variety of potatoes, for seeding or consumption, it shows the agronomic and morphologic characteristics and a picture of the tuber.
In the catalogue you will find the tuber characteristics, such as shape, skin and flesh colour.
For each potato variety the MEC Ortofrutticolo shows the list of farms, such as producers of potatoes, salesperson of potatoes, wholesalers of potatoes, importers of potatoes and exporters of potatoes, specifying for each farm the headquarter address and any website to contact personally the producer and retailer of potatoes.
