Gross seed onion yield nearly 12 percent up

According to the definitive crop estimates in arable farming, in 2021 the gross yield of seed onions stood at 1.5 million tonnes, 11.7 percent up on the previous year. The gross yield was only ever higher in 2011. Last year, 6.2 thousand onion sets were planted. This yielded 321 thousand tonnes or approximately one fifth of the total gross seed onion yield, the same as in the previous year.

In 2021, the gross ware potato yield stood at 3.3 million tonnes, representing a decline of 10.7 percent on 2020. The sugar beet yield amounted to 6.6 million tonnes, approximately 1.0 percent less than in 2020.

Summer wheat production fell, winter wheat production rose

The gross wheat yield stood at 1 million tonnes last year, roughly equivalent to 2020 (+1.8 percent). At the same time, the gross yield of summer wheat fell by 22.9 percent and that of winter wheat rose by 4.8 percent.

The barley yield stood at 0.2 million tonnes, i.e. 20.1 percent down on the previous year. This was partly due to a decline in summer barley yield (by 30.3 percent). The gross winter barley yield rose by 4.7 percent.

Growth in seed onion acreage, decline in ware potato acreage

In 2021, the cultivation area of seed onions grew by 2.9 thousand hectares to a total of 30 thousand hectares. This represents a 10.5-percent rise on the previous year. The ware potato area (71.4 thousand ha) declined year on year for the second time in a row by 5.3 thousand ha or 6.9 percent. The sugar beet area (80.7 thousand ha) showed a slight decrease (-0.9 percent).

Altogether 119 thousand ha were under wheat cultivation in 2021, representing a rise of 8.9 percent year on year. The barley area fell by 8.6 thousand ha over the same period due to the declining summer wheat area. The winter wheat area remained virtually unchanged.

Yields per hectare of seed onions and sugar beet unchanged

In 2021, the seed onion yield per hectare was virtually the same in 2021 as the year before. The yield per hectare of sugar beet stood at 82.2 tonnes on average. This is virtually equal to the previous year as well.

The ware potato yield per hectare was 46.7 tonnes last year, which represents a decline of 3.9 percent year on year. One hectare of barley gave a yield of 6.8 tonnes, i.e. 3.3 percent more than in 2020. The wheat crop yield amounted to 8.2 tonnes per hectare in 2021 (-6.8 percent).

Gross yields fell in Limburg

In early July 2021, floods in and around the province of Limburg severely affected the crop yields as no harvesting took place across an unusually large area.

The gross seed onion yield did increase in Limburg, by 1.7 percent. The yield per hectare declined by 2.5 percent.At the same time, the gross ware potato yield decreased by 10.2 percent. The yield per hectare decreased slightly, by 0.6 percent.

The gross sugar beet crop in Limburg province fell by 5.3 percent while the gross wheat crop yield fell by 9.4 percent year on year. The wheat crop yield was 10.2 percent lower per hectare than in 2020.

Provisional and definitive crop estimates

Every year in October, CBS publishes provisional crop estimates (including gross yield and hectare yield), based on expert estimates of the expected crop yield per hectare. The total gross crop yield may ultimately be higher or lower. Due to weather conditions for instance, it is possible that part of the cultivated area is not harvested or that the final yields per hectare are higher or lower.
The definitive crop estimates (including gross yield and hectare yield) over the same year are subsequently published in January of the following year and based on a survey among nearly 5 thousand crop farmers. Based on the survey, the definitive yield per hectare is determined as well as the crop yield ratio, i.e. the actual over the potential harvest yield.

A separate StatLine table (Dutch only) is published to indicate the discrepancies between the definitive and provisional crop estimates, alongside the StatLine table on crop production by region.