Belarus eats 166.9 kg of potatoes per person a year, more than anyone

Belarus eats more potatoes per person than any other country. Its potato food supply was 166.9 kg per person in 2023, the highest of 177 countries and almost five times the world figure of 33.7 kg. That is about 457 grams a day for every resident.

Where does the 166.9 kg figure come from?

The number is the 2023 value of "food supply quantity" for the item "potatoes and products" in the FAOSTAT Food Balance Sheets, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It covers fresh potatoes and processed potato products, converted back to a fresh-tuber equivalent.

It is not a survey of what people eat. FAOSTAT starts from production, adds imports, subtracts exports and stock changes, then deducts feed, seed, losses, processing and other non-food uses. What is left is food available for human consumption, divided by population. For Belarus in 2023 that came to 1.52 million tonnes of food. Household waste is still inside the figure, so actual intake is lower.

How far ahead of other countries is Belarus?

Ukraine is second at 147.0 kg per person. After that, no country reaches 105 kg: Bosnia and Herzegovina follows at 102.9 kg, then Nepal at 99.5 kg and Kyrgyzstan at 98.8 kg. Neighbouring Poland records 92.9 kg and Russia 84.2 kg.

The world figure of 33.7 kg is FAOSTAT's own world aggregate, which weights each country by population. A plain average of the 177 country values gives 34.2 kg, the number sometimes quoted. Against either, Belarus sits close to five times higher. The full ranking is covered in a separate post linked below.

How much of the Belarusian diet is potato?

In energy terms, potatoes supplied 293.9 kcal per person a day in Belarus in 2023, out of a total food supply of 3,396 kcal. That is about 8.7 percent of all calories. The world figure for potatoes was 59.4 kcal a day, so a Belarusian diet draws roughly five times as much energy from potato as the average diet worldwide.

Potato is still not the largest single source. Cereals supplied 786.6 kcal a day, of which wheat products alone gave 523.3 kcal, and meat gave 498.1 kcal. Milk products added 413.2 kcal. The pattern is of a diet built on bread, meat, dairy and potatoes together, with potato playing a larger part than in almost any other country.

Is Belarusian potato consumption rising or falling?

It has fallen, but slowly. The current series, which begins in 2010, shows 184.9 kg per person in 2010 and a peak of 188.1 kg in 2012. The figure dropped to 172.3 kg in 2015 and reached a low of 160.9 kg in 2021, before recovering to 166.9 kg in 2022 and again in 2023.

Over the 13 years, that is a fall of about 10 percent. Over the same period the world figure barely moved, from 33.4 kg in 2010 to 33.7 kg in 2023. Belarus has lost some of its lead over the rest of the world, but it has kept first place throughout the series.

Where does the rest of the harvest go?

Food is less than half of the story. Belarus's domestic potato supply in 2023 was 3.92 million tonnes. Of that, 1.52 million tonnes (39 percent) went to food, 1.13 million tonnes (29 percent) to animal feed, 0.95 million tonnes (24 percent) to seed for the next crop, 0.20 million tonnes to losses and 0.12 million tonnes to other non-food uses.

Feed is where most of the decline has happened. In 2010 Belarus fed 4.37 million tonnes of potatoes to livestock, more than twice the 1.76 million tonnes used as food. By 2023 feed use had fallen by about three-quarters, while food use fell by only 13 percent. Far fewer potatoes now go to livestock; the potatoes eaten by people have largely held.

How much does Belarus grow, and who grows it?

Belarus harvested 3.11 million tonnes of potatoes in 2024. That compares with 4.35 million tonnes in 2018, 4.02 million tonnes in 2023 and 7.83 million tonnes in 2010. The 2024 crop was 22.6 percent smaller than the 2023 crop.

The decline is mainly one of area. Harvested area fell from 366,766 hectares in 2010 to 141,000 hectares in 2024, while yield stayed in a narrow band: 21.4 t/ha in 2010 and 22.1 t/ha in 2024. Agricultural organisations grew only 10.8 percent of the 2024 harvest. The rest came from private farms and household plots.

What has happened to Belarus's potato exports?

Exports have shrunk faster than the harvest. Fresh potato exports rose from 51,138 tonnes in 2010 to a peak of 389,879 tonnes in 2017. They were still 298,391 tonnes, worth US$90.2 million, in 2022, then fell to 85,079 tonnes in 2023 and 68,911 tonnes, worth US$20.6 million, in 2024. The trade figures record the fall but do not give its cause.

Imports are small. Belarus bought 3,094 tonnes of fresh potatoes and 6,391 tonnes of frozen potato products in 2024. In other words, the potatoes Belarusians eat are almost all grown at home, and a smaller share of a smaller harvest now leaves the country.

Which country eats the most potatoes per person?

Belarus, with a potato food supply of 166.9 kg per person in 2023, the highest of 177 countries. Ukraine is second at 147.0 kg and Bosnia and Herzegovina third at 102.9 kg. The world figure is 33.7 kg, so Belarus is almost five times above it. The figure measures food available, including waste, not a dietary survey.

How many potatoes does a Belarusian eat a day?

On the 2023 figure of 166.9 kg a year, potato food supply in Belarus is about 457 grams per person a day, which supplied 293.9 kcal. Because food supply includes household waste and is averaged over the whole population, children included, the amount eaten by a typical adult is not the same number. It is best read as an upper bound for national intake.

Is Belarus still a major potato producer?

Less than before. Belarus harvested 3.11 million tonnes in 2024 on 141,000 hectares, against 7.83 million tonnes on 366,766 hectares in 2010. Agricultural organisations grew 10.8 percent of the 2024 crop. Home demand for food potatoes has held up much better than output, feed use or exports.