By Caroline Côté
Released: May 21, 2025
Precautions when reading results
The differences between the estimates provided are statistically significant at the 5% threshold. Unless otherwise indicated, only statistically significant changes are presented.
Planted area stable
For 2023, the area of potatoes planted in Québec is estimated at 17.1 thousand hectares (kha), similar to the area planted in 2022 (18.4 kha). On a regional level, the largest planted areas were observed in the combined administrative regions of Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches (4.3 kha) and Montréal, Laval and Lanaudière (3.8 kha).
Drop in potato production and yield
The area of potatoes harvested was 16.7 kha, down 8.2% (-1.5 kha) from 2022 (18.1 kha). The combined regions of Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches posted the sharpest decline in 2023, with a 0.4 kha drop (-8.9%).
Potato production totalled 528.7 thousand metric tonnes (kt) in 2023, down 18.4% (-118.9 kt) from 2022. Not since 2018 had potato production been this low at the provincial level. Among the regions where production was down, the combined regions of Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec had the largest decrease, as production dropped to 53.5 kt (-37.3%; -31.9 kt).
The potato yield was 31.8 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) in the province in 2023, down 11.4% (-4.1 t/ha) from 2022. The combined regions that contributed the most to this decrease are Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec (-24.0%), Estrie and Montérégie (-21.9%), and Montréal, Laval and Lanaudière (-12.7%). Only the combined regions of Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine posted an increase, with a yield that was up by 22.5% (+27.1 t/ha).
Decline in sales volume
After increasing in 2022, the volume of sales declined substantially in 2023 to 495.1 kt (-18.4%; -111.4 kt) in Québec as a whole. Four groups of regions recorded significant declines in sales: Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches (-36.5 kt; -20.7%), Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec (-36.3 kt; -43.6%), Estrie and Montérégie (-19.8 kt; -22.0%), and Montréal, Laval and Lanaudière (-10.9 kt; -9.6%).
Sales of potatoes in dollars stood at $254.9 million, comparable to the sales value in 2022 ($252.9 million). This stability is due to much higher potato prices in 2023 (+92.77 $/t; +22.2%) for Québec as a whole, which helped to offset the decline in sales volume.
There were only two groups of regions that posted significant changes in sales value compared with 2022: Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine with an increase (+106.9%; +$11.3 million) and Estrie and Montérégie with a decrease (-30.2%; -$13.7 million).
