MARCEL BRUINS, editor of European Seed, sat down with the leaders of five major potato breeding companies in Europe to learn more about the challenges of breeding new potato varieties. Piet Smeenge, director of Kweekbedrijf Smeenge-Research; Vanessa Prigge, Crop Improvement project manager at Solana; Gerard Backx, CEO of HZPC; Jan-Paul Bandsma, product manager at de Nijs Potatoes; and Guus Heselmans, R&D manager of C. Meijer B.V., provided insight on this favoured crop. …
New Zealand’s potato industry governing body has made a commitment to ensure the quality of potatoes imported from New Zealand by Fiji will be of top quality. Potatoes New Zealand (PNZ) says it wanted to see Fiji’s potato industry grow. Its chief executive, Chris Claridge, made the comments during the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji’s (BAF) bilateral meeting with the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (NZMPI) in Nadi on Tuesday.PNZ was representing…
United Kingdom—China’s developing taste for chips and crisps will soon be fuelled by British produce, as International Trade Secretary Dr. Liam Fox MP secures a deal which enables the UK to export seed potatoes to China. The deal is expected to bring major benefits to Scotland, with around 70% of the 100,000 tonnes of seed potatoes exported annually from the UK coming from Scottish farms. The seed potato export market is already…
On June 5, the government of Mexico published a list of retaliatory tariffs in response to the Section 232 tariffs being imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico. The list includes a number of agricultural products including frozen potato products. Effective immediately frozen potato products entering Mexico from the United States under Harmonized code 2004.1 will be assessed a 20 per cent tariff. Frozen potato products from…
The largest producer of Jersey Royal potatoes has warned crops may be left to rot in the fields because foreign workers have left ahead of Brexit. Polish workers – who had previously provided the majority of seasonal labour – have abandoned Jersey following the EU referendum, according to Charlie Gallichan of Woodside Farms, which grows and exports Jersey Royals, vegetables and flowers. Growers are “trying to keep their heads above water until they get reinforcements” from Africa and…
November 9, 2018, Ottawa — On November 7 and 8, industry leaders representing the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) and the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) met with over 50 Parliamentarians and civil servants in Ottawa to discuss key issues currently affecting the Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable sector. Notably, CPMA and CHC representatives addressed the need for continued free and fair trade agreements with new and emerging markets to support industry, and…
Jordan has lifted a ban on imports of Egyptian potatoes it imposed over a year ago due to brown rot, Egypt’s Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday. The Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Abdel Moneim al-Banna, said this comes as a reflection of the efforts of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and the Agriculture Quarantine Authority to preserve the reputation of Egyptian agricultural exports abroad and to open up new markets to…
Some Wisconsin potato growers are applauding new state laws that could help protect against crop disease. Gov. Scott Walker signed two new measures involving the potato industry Wednesday. One law requires growers to use certified seed potatoes if planting five or more acres. “It’s a requirement that just about every one of the other seed states in the country that grow seed potatoes already have,” said Alex Crockford, director of the Wisconsin…
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have completed the food, feed and environmental safety assessments of the J.R. Simplot Company’s second generation of Innate potatoes. The authorizations enable the potatoes to be imported, planted and sold in Canada, complementing the three varieties of Innate first generation potatoes that received regulatory approval last year. Health Canada conducted a comprehensive safety assessment and approved the use of Innate second generation potatoes…
U.S. potato producers began lobbying for Mexico to effectively open its doors to U.S. exports in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “United States potato farmers are supporting the renegotiation of NAFTA to address this matter and related sanitary and phytosanitary issues,” according to a report by the U.S. Congress. The United States is the world’s seventh largest exporter of potatoes in the world, with sales of $…