Mercadona increases purchase of national potatoes by 30%

Mercadona plans to increase its purchase of national potatoes by up to 30% this year. The supermarket chain expects to acquire a total of 180,000 tonnes of this tuber, an increase attributed mainly to the boost from the winter campaign of the verdete potato, a variety cultivated between August and December, allowing for potatoes during the winter months.

"We have been working on recovering crops in warmer areas to extend the national campaign as long as possible," says Laura Merino, potato specialist at Mercadona, who adds: "This way, we can have high-quality national potatoes in our stores for up to 8 months."

For the current summer potato campaign, which has just begun and is expected to last until September, the company will market potatoes grown in fields in Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha (Albacete, Toledo), Castilla y León (Ávila, Valladolid, Segovia, and Zamora), Galicia (Ourense), Euskadi (Araba/Álava), Canary Islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria), Balearic Islands (Mallorca and Ibiza), Region of Murcia (Cartagena), and Andalusia (Seville, Malaga, Almeria).

These last two producing areas have played a key role in the new boost of the winter campaign, as the climate, irrigation, and soil conditions have been favourable for cultivating the verdete potato.

Regarding varieties and formats, Mercadona offers two types of potatoes depending on the customer's needs: a special potato for frying and a more versatile one for all uses, available in three main formats: bulk, 3-kilo mesh, and 5-kilo mesh.