Potato starch is an area covered editorially by Potato Processing International magazine and potatobusiness.com, which we intend to cover more frequently in future articles.

The good news is that food processors are extremely interested in the newly developed starch types and applications, as well as in the increasing demand for such products.

For example, a report by Technavio shows that the CAGR for the global potato processed market for potato starch is to rise with 4.05%, between 2016 and 2021.

On the other hand, the International Potato Center (CIP) says it is likely that less than 50% of potatoes grown worldwide are consumed fresh. The rest are processed into potato food products and food ingredients, for animal feeding, re-used as seed tubers or processed into starch for industry and other uses.

Nowadays, opportunities for potato starch are significant, as the industrial global starch market is projected to reach 113.9 MT and USD106.64bn in terms of value by 2022, according to the report “Industrial Starch Market – Global Forecast to 2022”, recently published by MarketsandMarkets.

One of the drivers of starch growth is the rise of the industrial starch market in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in China and India. The consumption of starch in China accounts for nearly half of the region’s starch consumption, with the growing demand for European-style baked goods.

Furthermore, potato starch applications for the food industry have developed in a way that was almost inconceivable ten or twenty years ago – from bakery and confectionery industry to soups and sauces, ready meals, dairy products and other, a lot of processed foods contain starch.

Moreover, the potato derivate brings benefits difficult to reach in other ways – fat reduction, textures and flavors enhancement, gluten elimination, etc.

Potato starch is gluten free and is very useful for people with gluten intolerance or wheat sensitivity. It also aids in lowering plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, while at the same time it increases satiety, and even reduces fat storage.

There is a growing need for starch and starch derivatives, it seems, and Grand View Research, a US-based company, says an increasing demand for natural sweeteners in food processing and beverages industries is expected to drive the global starch derivatives globally.

These are few of the reasons for which we decided to cover the topic of potato starch in a comprehensive way in future articles and, of course, we are waiting for your comments and suggestions at ioana.oancea@mediatrade.ro and dan.orehov@cmgromania.ro!