A new strain of late blight that originated in the developing countries in the 1980s has spread to major production regions in North America and Europe in the 1990s. This constitutes a major threat to increased world potato production. Environmental considerations, arising from the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, are a major challenge in both temperate and tropical potato growing areas. A concerted and well-coordinated effort will be required if potato production is to reach its potential in the years ahead. The rest is used for manufactured products or is waste.
Processing is the fastest growing sector within the world potato economy.
Currently, for instance, about half of the annual crop in the United States is processed. Processing shows fast growth also in many developing countries, especially in Argentina, Colombia, China and Egypt. The world potato production outlook remains sharply divergent, with aggregate trends masking regional differences. With the exception of Europe and the CIS, output is projected to grow rapidly. Production in the developing countries is expected to grow at 2.8 percent per annum, although from a smaller base, compared with 0.3 percent for the developed countries.