Potato News from Australia

Australian Potato shoppers are spitting chips over the rising cost of washed potatoes amid reduced ­supplies.

AUSVEG, will host a series of potato research and development (R&D) workshops in South Australia this month, as part of activities arranged for the Potato Industry Extension Program.

McCain Foods agriculture director John Jackson in Australia has admitted the company’s relationship with the region’s potato growers has been damaged in recent years.

Recent research has linked the rise of fussy fruit and vegetable eaters in Western society to the population’s increased development of allergic asthma over the past 50 years.

Potatoes South Australia Incorporated, the peak industry body for the potato industry value chain, has been awarded funding of AU$409,800 (excl GST) through the Federal Department of Agriculture’s National Landcare Innovation Grants for a two year project which will help develop a more reliable soil Phosphorus test.

Simplot processing potato farmers in Tasmania have accepted a $10 per tonne price cut for crops deliverable in 2014.

Owners of an old carpet factory in Devonport (Tasmania) have held informal talks with the Devonport City Council about a conversion to a potato processing factory.

South Australian Potato producers have called for fair freight arrangements following the closure of McCain Foods' Penola plant.

Australian minister for the Environment, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, has launched the new EnviroVeg smartphone app for farmers, to help them manage their land sustainably.

A new study of 741 consumers released by the Australian vegetable industry today reveals almost one third of consumers have shown significant interest in buying more Asian vegetables.

Today’s reports that Simplot’s two vegetable processing plants at Bathurst and Devonport will remain open for at least another three years has been welcomed by peak industry body, AUSVEG.

The South Australian New Season Baby Potatoes Auction will be held at an Industry Dinner on Friday 1 November 2013. This annual auction is organised by Potatoes South Australia Inc.

Farmer Terry Buckley says he is sad to see the local Penola plant close, but he hopes the Ballarat plant might save the Australian potato processing industry, which is being outpriced by cheaper imports.

McCain Foods has announced it will close its potato processing factory in Penola, South Australia.

The Potato Marketing Corporation of Western Australia has started a campaign to increase the consumption of fresh potatoes.

Victorian potato growers will face fewer quarantine restrictions when selling their potatoes interstate.

Supermarket chain Woolworths has released a report focused on the changes in the spending pattern of their Australian Shoppers over the past 25 years. The report also highlights the dramatic change in the position of the potato in that shopping cart.

A recent study by Roy Morgan Research shows that potato chips are still Australia’s most popular snack food, with a third of Australians aged 14+ in the year to March 2013 buying the product in an average four-week period.