PRODUCTION COSTS AND PROFITABILITY OF THREE POTATO VARIETIES: LORD, VINETA AND JELLY IN YEARS 2011-2012

The paper Farm incomes in Poland vary substantially, which is entirely confirmed by the results of agricultural accounting in Polish FADN. The income is influenced by a range of factors of which the most important are natural conditions, the farm production potential, production intensity as well as subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy. The increase in potato production on the European market has caused a low price level. In some countries the decline in prices was even 15% in 2010. The decline in prices led to the decline in profitability of potato production because low prices obtained by producers entailed higher costs of potato production. This work shows research results from years 2011-2013. The aim of the research was to compare the profitability of edible potato production on an individual farm in the Łódź Province in the early and late harvesting of the analysed years. The data needed to estimate the profitability were obtained based on the data included in the report which an individual farm runs in order to determine the profitability of the application of new cultivation technique or new varieties. Based on the obtained data, direct and indirect costs as well as profit were calculated. The profitability estimated on the basis of the data collected from the farmer was compared to the profitability which would be achieved by the farmer on the basis of the percentage of direct and indirect costs provided by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics. The profitability calculated on the basis of indicators of the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics was lower than the profitability estimated on the basis of the data obtained from the analysis of the farm financial report.