PHNOM PENH, Feb 1 — South-east Asians are emerging as great potato eaters at an astonishing pace.

As cities expand and lifestyles evolve, the humble potato has found its way into cookhouses and street food stalls across the region like never before. 

From crispy fries at bustling night markets to aromatic potato curries simmering in family kitchens, the tuber that was once a staple of Western diet has now become a favourite among millions in South-east Asia, home to nearly 680 million people.

The Peru-based Centro Internacional de la Papa, or International Potato Centre (CIP), said per capita potato consumption increased over the past decade, indicating that potatoes are becoming a more common in South-east Asian diets. 

Peru in South America is said to be the birthplace of potatoes, where indigenous farmers have cultivated the tuber for thousands of years.

Yearly per capita potato consumption in South-east Asia soared from 4.33 kg in 2013 to 5.20 kg in 2023 - a whopping 20 per cent jump.

“While global demand appears stable, South-east Asia shows moderate but consistent growth in potato demand, reflecting changing dietary patterns and market expansion. 

“South-east Asia has demonstrated a robust expansion in consumption,” CIP Country Manager for India, Dr Neeraj Sharma, told Bernama.

Over the last decade, South-east Asia’s domestic supply quantity surged by 26.2 per cent over the last decade, rising from 3.2 million metric tonnes to 4.1 million metric tonnes. This growth rate is 10 times higher than the global average, according to CIP.

The largest producer is Indonesia, where farmers plant about 1.25 million metric tonnes of the crop annually, mostly in the highlands of Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara. 

Vietnam’s Red River Delta produces about 180,000 metric tonnes, while the Philippines’ production hovers around 100,000 metric tonnes, originating from the highland regions of Northern Luzon.

The rise in demand for potato is fuelled by rapid urbanisation, expansion of the food service sector such as quick-service restaurants, rising urban incomes, and lifestyle, say industry experts.

“Expansion in modern retail chains, snack food manufacturing, and household consumption of processed foods also play important roles.

“Supermarkets and convenience stores have expanded significantly in the region, increasing access to both fresh and processed potato products,” said Sharma.

Founder and Editor of Canada-based Potato News Today, Dr Lukie Pieterse, said demand growth over the past decade is relatively stable to slow-growing in many high-income markets, but is clearly rising in Asia and Africa, where income, urbanisation, and modern retail are changing consumption patterns.

“Fresh potato demand has generally risen but not uniformly. In many South-east Asian markets, potatoes are still a smaller staple compared with rice, noodles, cassava, or plantains. 

“Growth tends to be most visible in urban centres and among middle-income consumers, where potatoes are used more often for home cooking, western-style dishes, and convenience meals,” Pieterse told Bernama.

China and India are driving global potato production, accounting for 100 million metric tonnes and nearly 58 million metric tonnes, respectively. 

After rice and wheat, potatoes are the world’s third most important food crop for human consumption. 

More than a billion people around the world eat potatoes. Global total crop production was about 390 million metric tonnes in 2024.

There are more than 4,000 varieties of native potatoes, mostly found in the Andes along South America, according to CIP. — Bernama