Starch potatoes in Austria

In Austria, some 1,150 agricultural holdings grow a contract volume of around 200,000 tonnes of starch potatoes on an area extending over approx. 5,000 hectares. Cultivation is concentrated in the Federal Provinces of Lower and Upper Austria with the Waldviertel region representing the main area of cultivation. Hectare yields and starch content vary strongly between regions and are subject to annual fluctuations on account of the different growth conditions. Over the years, Upper Austria has had the highest hectare yields, whereas tubers from Weinviertel region recorded the highest starch content.

Starch potatoes are cultivated and priced within the framework of cultivation and supply agreements between farmers and the processing industry.

Harvested potatoes are used to produce potato starch in the Gmünd potato starch factory located in the Waldviertel region. Roughly 220,000 tonnes of starch potatoes are processed every year with up to 2,000 tonnes refined in factories operating on the basis of the individual starch potato campaigns.

Potato starch has a wide range of applications in the food business, in animal feed and in non-food industries like the paper industry and the pharmaceutical industry.