Sweet potato production in New Zealand
New Zealand: Sweet potato production was 11,891 tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
11,891 tonnes
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
69th
of 120 countries
All-time high
27,400 tonnes
in 1996
All-time low
2,840 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Sweet potato production in New Zealand, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 11,891 tonnes for sweet potato production in 2024.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 14.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sweet potato production in New Zealand peaked at 27,400 tonnes in 1996 and was at its lowest, 2,840 tonnes, in 1961.
New Zealand ranks 69th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Sweet potato production in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2,840 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 3,278 tonnes | +15.4% |
| 1963 | 3,239 tonnes | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 3,569 tonnes | +10.2% |
| 1965 | 4,289 tonnes | +20.2% |
| 1966 | 3,638 tonnes | -15.2% |
| 1967 | 5,624 tonnes | +54.6% |
| 1968 | 6,322 tonnes | +12.4% |
| 1969 | 7,259 tonnes | +14.8% |
| 1970 | 8,095 tonnes | +11.5% |
| 1971 | 6,758 tonnes | -16.5% |
| 1972 | 7,634 tonnes | +13.0% |
| 1973 | 8,371 tonnes | +9.7% |
| 1974 | 9,286 tonnes | +10.9% |
| 1975 | 7,490 tonnes | -19.3% |
| 1976 | 5,773 tonnes | -22.9% |
| 1977 | 6,091 tonnes | +5.5% |
| 1978 | 15,242 tonnes | +150.2% |
| 1979 | 8,391 tonnes | -44.9% |
| 1980 | 15,768 tonnes | +87.9% |
| 1981 | 10,301 tonnes | -34.7% |
| 1982 | 6,796 tonnes | -34.0% |
| 1983 | 7,000 tonnes | +3.0% |
| 1984 | 8,000 tonnes | +14.3% |
| 1985 | 8,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 7,200 tonnes | -10.0% |
| 1987 | 9,900 tonnes | +37.5% |
| 1988 | 9,900 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 10,200 tonnes | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 12,400 tonnes | +21.6% |
| 1991 | 16,000 tonnes | +29.0% |
| 1992 | 19,400 tonnes | +21.2% |
| 1993 | 21,300 tonnes | +9.8% |
| 1994 | 25,900 tonnes | +21.6% |
| 1995 | 26,500 tonnes | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 27,400 tonnes | +3.4% |
| 1997 | 20,000 tonnes | -27.0% |
| 1998 | 13,100 tonnes | -34.5% |
| 1999 | 17,000 tonnes | +29.8% |
| 2000 | 17,500 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 16,000 tonnes | -8.6% |
| 2002 | 16,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 17,500 tonnes | +9.4% |
| 2004 | 20,000 tonnes | +14.3% |
| 2005 | 17,500 tonnes | -12.5% |
| 2006 | 16,800 tonnes | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 15,200 tonnes | -9.5% |
| 2008 | 13,200 tonnes | -13.2% |
| 2009 | 12,400 tonnes | -6.1% |
| 2010 | 14,251 tonnes | +14.9% |
| 2011 | 15,858 tonnes | +11.3% |
| 2012 | 13,769 tonnes | -13.2% |
| 2013 | 13,930 tonnes | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 13,822 tonnes | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 13,190 tonnes | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 12,384 tonnes | -6.1% |
| 2017 | 11,095 tonnes | -10.4% |
| 2018 | 12,223 tonnes | +10.2% |
| 2019 | 11,901 tonnes | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 11,740 tonnes | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 11,955 tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 11,865 tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 11,853 tonnes | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 11,891 tonnes | +0.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 11,891 tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 1,903 tonnes, 6.2× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 11,891 tonnes is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 55,628 tonnes, 21% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Sweet potato production in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +150.2% | 6,091 tonnes | 15,242 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4,451 tonnes | 2,840 tonnes | 7,259 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 8,313 tonnes | 5,773 tonnes | 15,242 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 9,306 tonnes | 6,796 tonnes | 15,768 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 19,900 tonnes | 12,400 tonnes | 27,400 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 16,210 tonnes | 12,400 tonnes | 20,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 13,242 tonnes | 11,095 tonnes | 15,858 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 11,861 tonnes | 11,740 tonnes | 11,955 tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sweet potato production in New Zealand?
- Sweet potato production in New Zealand was 11,891 tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest sweet potato production recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 27,400 tonnes in 1996.
- What is the lowest sweet potato production recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,840 tonnes in 1961.
- How does New Zealand rank for sweet potato production?
- New Zealand ranks 69th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sweet potato production rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Sweet potato production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Sweet potato production is measured in tonnes.