Potato industry - statistics & facts

Retail market

In the U.S. retail environment, several types of different potatoes are offered. Based on generated sales, the most popular one within the category was ‘Russet’ in 2020. The variety is characterized by a rough brown skin and numerous eyes. It contains a large amount of starch and is low in moisture. A large share of potatoes in the United States are utilized for processing. In 2020, some 270 million cwt of potatoes were processed in the country, while around 98 million cwt of potatoes were utilized fresh. Besides being offered in its natural form, potatoes are often sold as processed foods such as potato chips, French fries or instant potato products. The leading potato chips vendor was Frito Lay in 2020, based on a sales of over 4.8 billion U.S. dollars. Frito Lay's brand portfolio includes Lay's, Cheetos and Doritos chips amongst others.

Potato consumption

While per capita consumption of fresh potatoes has fallen over the years, from around 47 pounds per person in 2000 to only about 30.6 pounds per capita in 2020 , U.S. consumers have instead increased their consumption of fresh sweet potatoes. Per capita consumption of fresh sweet potatoes has almost doubled in recent decades, increasing from some 4.2 pounds in 2000 to just under seven pounds per capita in 2020.

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