Importers of US French Fries get 'Potatoes 101' in Washington

Thirty-eight importers and distributors of U.S. French fries from southeast Asia and Latin America visited Washington earlier this month on a U.S. Potato Board sponsored reverse trade mission.

Matt Harris, Director of Trade for the Washington State Potato Commission, says participants came from such countries as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica and more. And what they got is sort of a potato 101 course.

Harris: “We showed them digging and farming practices. Then from that we took them to storage and how potatoes can be stored almost a year‘s length of time. From that application of handling-growing, we went to a processor and we showed them how those great Washington state-U.S. potatoes are turned into French fries.”