After a tough 2018 season, Scottish potatoes have become increasingly important in maintaining supply this year, according to statistics from AHDB.

Scotland avoided the worst of last year’s drought with production only slightly below average and as the season has progressed an increasing proportion of the UK stocks have been held north of the border.

Previously responsible for a quarter of the UK levels, figures up to the end of March show that Scottish growers now account for 34% of total grower held stocks.

To ensure their statistics on UK production and stocks are robust, AHDB runs regular surveys on stock levels (end-Nov, end-Jan and end-March) using their grower panel. The grower panel is a group of approximately 500 registered potato growers who provide information on seed use, yields, stocks and sales from their farm.

A mixture of heavy demand and issues with ambient storage saw above average drawdown between Nov-Jan in England and Wales. However, drawdown rates in Scotland remained steady with better quality helping potatoes keep better in stores.