Western Australia declared Potato Cyst Nematode free

After a battle lasting almost 25 years, Western Australia's $45 million potato industry has been declared free of the devastating potato cyst nematode (PCN).

In 1986, PCN was detected on six properties out of Perth, putting a block on the export of WA potatoes to lucrative Asian markets.
Now, in what's believed to be a world first, Western Australia has eliminated the pest and has been reinstated as a potato cyst nematode free area.

Western Australia's Agriculture Minister Terry Redman expects that area freedom will give the Western Australia's potato industry a marketing boost and open up previously inaccessible markets.