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CIP • SOCIAL SCIENCES WORKING PAPER 2010-1
4.4.4 Consumer preferences of potato products in households
Consumption practices of potato products vary from country to country. In the households of
almost all eastern and central African countries, consumption of boiled potato is most dominant
cultural dish (Table 12). However, consumption of potato in the form of sauce in mixture with
other spices is the most popular cultural dish in Ethiopia. Consumption of fried/grilled potato is
also a common cultural dish in Tanzania.
The forms in which potato products are consumed are closely related to income levels of
households. Low income households consume potatoes in the form of traditional dishes, such as
mixed sauce and boiled, while the high income households consume potatoes in western type
dishes such as chips, crisps, salads and others.
Table 12. Most consumed forms of potato products by households in ECA countries.
Type of potato Burundi Ethiopia Tanzania Uganda
product n % n % n % n %
Chips 136 94 97 46 123 87.9 158 89.8
Boiled 139 97 156 74 123 87.9 163 92.6
Crisps 7 5 127 60 32 22.9 34 19.3
Fried/grilled 73 51 - - 1 100 94 53.4
Mashed 15 10 - - 7 5 21 11.9
Sauce - - 205 97 - - - -
Different reasons were given for the varying potato product preferences. For example, in
Tanzania high income households prefer potato chips because of what they called “good
palatability” (68.1%), easy to prepare (62.9%) and chips can be obtained at low cost because
ingredients for preparation are locally available (61.5%).
In Uganda, 70% of the households preferred chips to other potato products because of children.
In Burundi, the preferences of potato products for household consumption varied according to
age and income. The youth and children like potato chips and fried potato, while elders prefer
boiled potato.
4.5. Chips processing practices in the ECA countries
4.5.1 The status of chips processing in retail outlets
In eastern and central African countries, 80% of the retail outlets purchase potatoes and carry out
own processing of chips, usually on orders by customers (Table 13). In Tanzania and Rwanda, all
the sampled retail outlets process chips in their own premises. The corresponding figures in
Ethiopia and Burundi account for 58% and 66%, respectively. All the high standard retail outlets
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