Potato News from Australia

September 23, 2010

Tasmanian potato growers agree price cut with McCain

McCain Tasmanian potato growers supplying McCain have agreed on a price cut of $26.50 per tonne for this season.

September 17, 2010

South Australian potato growers close to a deal with McCain Foods

Potato growers in the Ballarat region (South Australia) are continuing negotiations over pricing for the next harvest with the food processor McCain.

Globodera Rostochiensis (Courtesy: nematode.net)

September 14, 2010

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).

September 13, 2010

McCain Foods Australia and South East Potato growers settle contract

Another price cut in a contract settled yesterday between South East potato growers and major potato-processing company McCain Foods Australia has threatened to wipe-out the industry if the downturn continues, according to potato producers in the region.

August 22, 2010

Taste drives demand for Hawkesbury organic potatoes

In New South Wales, Australia, Matt Simmons can barely keep up with demand for the organic potatoes he and wife Sue grow on their 48-hectare farm on the Hawkesbury River.

August 19, 2010

Australian Potato Industry fears Zebra Chip disease

AUSVEG CEO Richard Mulcahy said today that diseased potatoes had the potential to threaten the viability of the entire Australian potato industry if the Australian Federal Government allows potatoes to be imported for processing from New Zealand.

June 24, 2010

Tasmanian Potato growers ask Simplot for a 4 percent price increase

Potato growers who supply Simplot Australia’s Ulverstone potato processing plant have put their case for a four per cent price increase for the 2010/11 growing season, the equivalent of another $13 a tonne. Simplot has yet to respond to the growers’ p...

June 14, 2010

Potato Salad may cut cancer risk red meat

Scientists from Adelaide’s Flinders University found that the starch contained in cold, cooked potatoes would reduce the cancer risk associated with eating red meat, with increasing evidence available that a diet high in red meat can increase a person’...

SARDI Plant and Soil Health Scientists Robin Harding and Kathy Ophel Keller worked to develop the DNA diagnostic diseases for potatoes

May 27, 2010

Testing soil for diseases before potatoes are planted

Australian scientists at SARDI are making major strides in diagnosing potato diseases before the potato crop is planted.Watch ABC video on this topicAustralia’s $500 million-plus potato industry will benefit from new DNA tests that can quickly and accu...

May 19, 2010

Australian potato growers concerned about zebra chip disease

Potato growers across Australia have been urged to protect the local industry from a major pest which has established itself in New Zealand. New Zealand potato producers have been coming to terms with the disease Zebra chip. The disease is seen as...

April 13, 2010

McCain Ballarat staff return to work following strike

Striking workers at the McCain Foods Ballarat factory in Australia were ordered back to work yesterday following a dispute over rostered days off. The strike started when workers walked off the job on Monday night after the company failed to come to ...

Hungry Jack's (Australian Franchise of Burger King)

April 13, 2010

Australian Hungry Jack's french fries now manufactured in Canada?

McCain Foods has told growers in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania it requires 10 per cent less potatoes for the 2010-11 season and wants to cut the price by AU$45 per tonne. A meeting of potato growers at Ballarat last week angrily rejected Mc...

April 07, 2010

Price cuts and volume reductions for Australian Potato Growers McCain Foods

Potato growers in the Moorabool region (Australia, near McCain Foods Ballarat factory) say they could be forced out of business after McCain Foods planned a AU$45 a tonne price cut next season. With McCain’s tonnage also set to be reduced by 10 per c...

March 16, 2010

Processed Potato Import chipping away at Aussie potato profits

Australian potato producers are feeling the pinch, due to an increase in processed potato imports from Europe, American and New Zealand. Since 2004, annual processed potato imports have risen 400 per cent, from $20 million to $109 million. Tim Heisse...

March 08, 2010

Discovery of fat taste could hold the key to reducing obesity - link to BMI

A newly discovered ability for people to taste fat could hold the key to reducing obesity, Deakin University health researchers believe. Deakin researchers Dr Russell Keast and PhD student Jessica Stewart, working with colleagues at the University o...

February 08, 2010

AUSVEG criticises Australian government for lack of support around Fruit Logistica

AUSVEG Chairman, John Brent, today expressed dismay at the lack of Australian representation at the Fruit Logistica Trade Fair just concluded in Berlin and called on Australia’s political leaders to place more emphasis on the agricultural industry and ...

January 26, 2010

Trading down not as prevalent down under

Latest research from Leatherhead’s Global Food Markets database suggests that the key food sectors in Australia are weathering the global recession well. Although there are signs that consumers have begun to economise during the slowdown, many sectors ...

December 10, 2009

Cargill acquires edible fats and oils operations of Goodman Fielder

Cargill announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Goodman Fielder's Commercial Edible Fats and Oils business. The A$ 240 million purchase includes the Commercial business' four fats and oils refining assets located in West Foots...