News on Potato Storage from Europe

In the United Kingdom, restrictions on the use of products containing Maleic Hydrazide (MH) - used to control volunteers and to suppress sprouting during storage - have been removed following a review by the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD) of the HSE.

UK consumers may face a home-grown potatoes shortage next year as stocks run out due to new storage rules.

The Italian potato season has had a problematic start due to the lack of some post-harvest treatments.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced on 23 June 2019 that Qu Dongyu has been elected its new Director-General.

We understand that on 17 June 2019 the European Union’s Health and Food Safety Directorate-General Appeal Committee concluded Chlorpropham’s (CIPC) approval for use both as a herbicide and as a sprout suppressant cannot be renewed.

The Europatat 2019 Congress, co-organised by the Norwegian Association of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers (NFGF) and Europatat, will take place in Oslo (Norway) from 12 to 14 June 2019. Under the slogan 'The timeless potato: A dynamic and innovative food'

Hungary hasn't been self-sufficient in the potato market for a long time, but the price of potatoes in February was still extraordinary.

Many potato store operators could make significant savings in energy costs if they obtained more usage data to make informed decisions, according to Ray Andrews of Crop Systems Limited.

The latest estimates from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) show British potato stock levels were down 13 per cent on the five-year average. However, comparable to other tight supply seasons, they were a little higher.

The NEPG (North-Western European Potato Growers) have estimated that the upcoming area for
consumption potatoes in 2019 will increase between 1 and 2 % towards almost 604.000 ha in the 5
main production countries.

OC Verhulst, since many years the manufacturer of air handling units of outstanding quality, found Mooij Agro as her partner to sell and support the VaccTek® Condenser Dryer; the all-in-one machine for the storage of agricultural crops.

Demand is increasing for complete projects for potatoes from planting through to storage and processing. To respond to that need Tolsma-Grisnich and Grimme Scandinavia have joined forces to become a reliable ‘total partner’ for the Scandinavian market.

Last Friday, the European Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, mostly referred to as ScoPAFF voted an a proposal to ban Chlorpropham (or CIPC), widely used in the potato industry as sprout inhibitor during potato storage.

Last Friday, potato cooperative Agrico celebrated the official opening of its new quality centre. The centre was built last year behind the company's head office in Emmeloord.

The Tolsma-Grisnich Group, specialized in potato storage and potato handling, will take full ownership of its UK subsidiary Farm Electronics, effective from 1 January 2019.

After Great Britain published its potato statistics earlier this month, the North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) created the overview for their entire region: an 18 percent lower total harvest

That the potato harvest this year in Europe was well below average due to extreme weather conditions is well known by now. I this article we present some recent data from Great Britain, The Netherlands and Spain that further clarify the situation

After some 36 years with AHDB and its predecessor organisations, Potato Specialist Mike Storey is going to retire at Christmas. His colleague Adrian Cunnington looks back...