The Majority Of Of The World's Potatoes Come From This Country

Potatoes are one of the world's most important staple crops. They've long been associated with a variety of cultures, from Ireland (even if St. Patrick never ate potatoes) to America (where it's a necessary component in our national meals, from Thanksgiving to a simple burger and fries), a starchy tuber that both tastes great and is extraordinarily hardy. But where do most of the world's potatoes come from? It's gotta be the U.S., right? Multiple states (Idaho, North Dakota, and Washington) are also known for their potato crops. Surely the U.S. will come in first here.

Not so fast. Not only does the U.S. not lead the world in potato production, it isn't even in the top three. It turns out the top two producers of potatoes worldwide are the world's two most populous cultures, China and India, and the third is a country that you've definitely seen in the news a lot lately: Ukraine.

There's good reason to associate potatoes with the Americas: this is where they came from originally. Potatoes were actually domesticated around 7,000-10,000 years ago in a region around southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia, then spread north to the North American continent. By the time Europeans arrived, they were a staple crop for a huge number of Native American tribes. The rest of the world wouldn't have potatoes if they hadn't spread outward from there. So what gives? How come the U.S. is fourth?

Well, it may seem strange that China ranks first in potato production, but it's not nearly as odd when you get down to the brass tacks of it all. First of all, China is either the most populous or second-most populous nation on the planet — it trades off the top spot year-by-year with India. But while India does seem to make sense here (samosas, an Indian dish with which many Americans are familiar, are primarily potato-based), China might seem odd because we don't think of them as a potato-heavy culture. That's a misconception, though.

In point of fact, potatoes became a staple crop in China around 400 years ago, right after Europeans got their hands on them. While different regions have different methods of preparation, potatoes are actually eaten far more commonly in China than you might think — which is why the country produces roughly 94 million metric tons of them per year, as of 2021 (India checks in at around 54 million).

But there's another country that outdoes the U.S. here, despite having barely more than 1/10th of its population: Ukraine. Sure, Ukraine eats a lot of potatoes, but that's not the whole story here. Ukraine is often referred to as "the breadbasket of Europe" for a good reason: it possesses some of the most fertile soil on the planet. Corn, soybeans, wheat, parley, and yes, potatoes — pretty much everything grows in huge quantities in Ukraine. A huge percentage of its land (around 104 million acres) is reserved for agricultural use, and it's long been a net exporter of crops, recent history notwithstanding. It has good reason to punch above its weight class with potatoes.