Potato News from Europe

Great Britain grower-held potato stock levels at the end of March 2017 were at 1Mt, around the same volume as the end-March 2016 and 300Kt less than the end-March 2015 according to an AHDB estimate.

The value of the certificate of share of HZPC Holding B.V., the world leader in potato breeding and seed potato trade, is determined on € 165.65 at the bi-annual stock trading day. This means again a maximum increase of the value of 10% and it brings the market value to € 129.8 million.

DEFRA ha aprobado la solicitud del Laboratorio Sainsbury, Norwich, para llevar a cabo ensayos de campo con cultivo de papa genéticamente modificada (GM) en un sitio de ensayo designado en el Norwich Research Park entre 2017 y 2021.

In the United Kingdom, farming minster George Eustice (DEFRA) has approved a four-year trial of genetically modified (GM) potatoes at The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich.

Potato Machine Manufacturer AVR explains a number of options for the crop handling & storage equipment launched last season

Buntata is a collaborative effort between the University of St Andrews and the James Hutton Institute to enable open access to our information resources and put them at the fingertips of potato growers.

TOMRA Sorting Food has delivered the world’s highest capacity steam peeler to a leading potato processing company.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 168.0 points in April 2017, down 3.1 points (1.8 percent) from March, but still 15.2 points (10 percent) higher than in April 2016.

The Jazzy baby potato from C. Meijer does not need to be peeled. This variety, introduced seven years ago by the Dutch breeder, just needs to be washed. Jazzy baby potatoes can also be served after only ten minutes of cooking.

La conselleira de Medio Rural, Ángeles Vázquez, ha comunicado que en los primeros cuatro ayuntamientos en los que se ha empezado a retirar la patata por la plaga de la polilla guatemalteca se han recogido "cerca de 17.000 kilos de patata", y ha pedido la "solidaridad" de los afectados para "facilitar" la recogida.

Despite the fact that the bacteria responsible for zebra chip disease occur in the Mediterranean and cause damage in leek and onions, the risk for transfer to potatoes is low, because of the feeding preferences of the transmitting psyllids in this area.

tna has launched the tna ropac® 5, a ground-breaking, ultra-high-speed case packer for flexible bags that is capable of industry-leading speeds of up to 300 bags per minute.

Key Technology has been selected to equip a new production line at Lutosa, a subsidiary of McCain Foods Limited, with a complete solution of their optical inspection and material handling equipment that will prominently feature their new VERYX® digital sorters in a contract worth US$9 million.

Lamb Weston / Meijer has reached the completion phase of the acquisition of the potato division of Oerlemans Foods, including a take-over of the plant in Broekhuizenvorst.

Now that the potato planting season is upon us, we have a newcomer in the field. Potato machine manufacturer AVR is launching the trailed Ceres 450 combined potato planter.

Processing and Packaging equipment specialist tna will open a dedicated innovations hall located at Station Airport in Düsseldorf during the Interpack fair to accommodate its ever-growing portfolio of turnkey food processing and packaging solutions.

The organizers of the Europatat 2017 Congress in Antwerp from 15 to 17 June announce the addition of a number of high level speakers to the programme

Bejo has obtained breeder’s rights on its first True Potato Seed (TPS) variety. This new potato hybrid, Oliver F1, can be cultivated directly from botanical seed and, after transplanting, produces table potatoes in one season.