In 2012, the consumption of potatoes in Great Britain (GB) was relatively steady. However, looking across a 20 year trend, the annual consumption of fresh potatoes has declined from 66kg/head to 39kg. At the same time, consumption of processed potatoes has increased to 51kg/head from 42kg/head.
This is reflected in the increased production of potatoes for the different markets. Over the past 5 years, the proportion of potatoes being packed and sold as fresh pre-pack and bags has declined (from 41% to 37% and from 9% to 5% respectively). The production of potatoes for processing has increased to account for almost 30% of the total crop compared to 24%.
Within this increase in processed potato production, the proportion of frozen or chilled potatoes has remained steady. However, canned/dehydrated/other use has declined by a third to 6%, while crisp production has increased from by almost 15% to reach 39% of processed production.
At retail level, fresh potatoes dominate the overall carbohydrate market, with volume sales accounting for 82% of all carbohydrates sold (while pasta and rice/noodles account for 7% each respectively). Kantar WorldPanel estimates the GB retail market for fresh potatoes to be in excess of 1.5 million metric tonnes. However, volumes of fresh potatoes sold have declined by 7% over the last year. In contrast, volumes of processed potato products have increased by 2% over the same period. The sales of frozen potato products have been rising at 7% per annum for the past five years.
In value terms, fresh potatoes account for nearly one-third of the market, with other potato products taking up a much larger value share. This is due to the differences in pack/product prices, as other potato products have a much higher price per kilo than fresh potatoes.
Source: BordBia – British Consumers Gradually Switching from Fresh to Processed Potatoes
