In the years since Pakistan’s founding in 1947, when the potato crop was limited to only a small area and an annual yield of less than 30000 tonnes, the plant is experiencing a significant change. Between 1995 and 2007 witnessed a significant increase in both amount of land under cultivation as well as the average yields. This was mainly because of improvements in the use of irrigation, which boosted production from a mere one million tonnes to an all-time record of over 2.6 million tons.

Based on the most recent information on agriculture from the year 2017, the potato industry covers more than 170,300 hectares yielding an average of 4.0 millions tonnes. Most of the production comes from Punjab which accounts for more than 90% of the country’s total yield of potatoes, along with additional contributions coming of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh.

A majority of Pakistani potato farmers are focused toward supplying markets in urban areas as well as an important source of income for rural households. Additionally, consumption of potato products across the nation is increasing and the per-capita consumption rising by around 10 kg and more than 15 kilograms in the last 10 years.

Source: Potato Pro