Potatoes: Kiwis’ love of chips revealed in billion-dollar buy-up

Kiwis' love of chips and frozen fries led to over $1 billion worth of potatoes being eaten last year. Photo / 123RF

By RNZ

New Zealanders chomped through over $1 billion of potatoes last year – mostly in the form of chips or frozen fries.

The stat comes from “Fresh Facts 2024″, an annual report from the pan-sector group United Fresh which outlines eating and exporting trends.

Total annual potato production decreased by 72,800 tonnes between 2019/20 and 2023/24, a drop of 13.7%.

Domestically, consumed processed chips and frozen/fried potatoes made up 61.3% of the total domestic industry value in 2023/24.

The report also looked at eating trends of other fresh produce.

Data showed Taiwan consumed $44 million worth of New Zealand cherries, and royal gala is still our most popular variety of apple export, making up 22% of exports.

The tough times avocado growers have been having over the last couple of seasons were laid bare in the report.

Between 2022/23 and 2023/24, the total volume of avocados produced decreased by 1.5 million trays, and the export value of avocados decreased by 67% to $20.3 million.

Terrible weather led to a smaller harvest last year, and quality issues led to an oversupply of lower-grade fruit in the domestic market – pushing down prices.

But overall in 2024, New Zealand’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports will reach $4.3 billion – an increase of 8% from 2023.

“Fresh Facts 2024″ also looked at the fresh fruit and vegetable industry’s reporting on sustainability.

Last year guidelines were produced to help businesses look at the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been adopted by the NZ Government.

An analysis of annual reports across the industry showed 84% mentioned sustainability, but only 20% mentioned SDGs specifically, and only 2% had adopted an SDG framework.

- RNZ