Potato News from Africa

De naar Marokko geëxporteerde pootaardappelen komen terug naar Nederland. Dat zegt Jan Hoogenboom, financieel manager van aardappelhandelshuis HZPC. Marokko past de eisen voor pootgoed ineens strenger toe. Maximaal 5 procent van de aardappelen mag ...

The deluge of rains pounding away at the country is bringing losses in its wake, as farmers dump crops in the market at throwaway prices.In North Kinangop, the price of a 110kg sack of potatoes has dropped from Sh2,700 to Sh600, and potatoes that have ...

Het afgelopen jaar is de Algerijnse aardappelteelt met 30% gegroeid ten opzichte van 2008. Er wordt momenteel op 40.000 hectare geteeld, dat is 6.000 hectare meer dan 2008. De verwachte oogst is 300.000 ton aardappelen

McCain Foods Ltd. is gearing up for what could be a record year in South Africa. Its sales are booming, a state-of-the-art factory is finally up and running, and the World Cup in June will launch its products in more outlets than ever before.   McCain...

The Commission has given permission to import Egyptian potatoes to the EU during the import season 2009/2010. This although shipments were confiscated last year because of contamination with Pseudomonas solanacearum.   During the last import season 6...

A delegation of people representing P.E.I.'s potato industry returned this week from a trade mission to Algeria, hopeful about re-establishing markets for their products in that African country. Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board,...

The South African government has rejected the Agriculture Research Council’s (ARC’s) application to provide genetically modified potatoes to local farmers, saying it was concerned about its safety and economic effect. “This is probably the mo...

In South Africa,  Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has told Parliament that his department intends to introduce rules banning industrially produced trans fats in all processed and prepared foods.Giving a written reply on Thursday to a question from the...

Potatoes are once again a hot topic of contention between Egypt and the European Union. A couple of weeks ago, following the discovery of some cases of brown rot, the EU decided to impose a ban on Egyptian potato exports. An Egyptian-EU agreement stipu...

The Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on the revival of potato growing to boost the country’s food security. Among the key priorities are the rehabilitation of cold stores, construction and equipping tissue culture laboratories and green houses. ...

In Angola, at least 10,000 tons of potato are expected to be produced within Matala irrigated perimeter by local farmers, as a result of the first season of the process of diversification of crops being carried out by the Local Development Socicety (SO...

SCRI is leading an international project to help potato farmers in Kenya.The mission is being supported with a grant from the Monsanto Fund totalling £186,000. The ambition is to increase potato yields - and importantly Kenyan farmer's incomes.

Algeria is suffering a potato shortage because officials have imposed strict controls on the use of fertiliser to stop al Qaeda militants using it as a bomb-making ingredient, farmers said.Security experts say ammonia, used by farmers to improve crop y...

McCain Foods has expanded one of its key plants in South Africa with the addition of three new packing lines, each based around an Ishida R-Series multihead weigher.The world’s largest producer of French fries, McCain Foods is also the leading supplier...

The full benefit of lower potato prices in 2008 was not passed on to the consumer, Potatoes SA (PSA) said on Tuesday. During 2008, the producer price of potatoes dropped by 45 percent, Mark du Plessis, CEO of PSA said. However, the average retail pr...

The Egyptian potato sector has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the UK for a number of years. Traditionally, the UK receives new-season, high-quality new potatoes throughout the winter months and in return, Egyptian producers are rewarde...

The South African Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) directorate recently considered a complaint by a Kevin Harris that the claims featured in the TV advert for Simba Sunbites chips - "no added MSG;no tartrazine;no trans fat"- portray the...

Egypt may already have the magic ingredient to ease the pressures of a growing population and rising food prices: the Potato.In Egypt, those who know potatoes say that the lowly, oft-mocked crop could feed the hungry and pump cash into the economy. Big...