News on The Potato Supply Chain

Sensor-based sorter manufacturer TOMRA offers their insights on the impact of sorting technology on food safety in the Potato Processing Industry

Driving around on Prince Edward Island roads this time of year is particularly beautiful as the potato fields are now out in blossom.

Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Luis Felipe Arauz said no to the possibility of evaluating imports of potatoes, despite demands made by the industrial sector.

According to Felix Molenaar of the eponymous potato company from Haarlem, the Netherlands, the table potato market is very calm.

Scotts Precision Manufacturing is reporting a record year, with sales of its Evolution separator and Trinity range of haulm toppers up by over 30%.

The Canadian government of the provincial government of Prince Edward Island are providing some additional help for Island farmers following the poor potato harvest of 2018, they announced at a farm in Pownal, P.E.I., Friday morning.

The International Potato Technology Expo, a leading potato event in Canada, returns to the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown February 21-22, 2020.

Tong Engineering has introduced a new twin-head box filler - the Monstafill. A seed potato processor in Tasmania is already using it to minimise labour and to almost triple throughput.

WSU plant pathologists Kiwamu Tanaka and Cynthia Gleason are exploring novel approaches to protect the potato crops against nematodes and scab - mobilizing nature itself.

Sri Lankans consume 228,000MT of potatoes annually, and the per capita consumption of potato has increased by more than five kilogrammes in the last 14 years. However, only 35 percent of the requirement is produced locally.

Statistics Canada has published an estimate of the potato acreage for 2019. An update on the current condition of the crop was provided by United Potato Growers Canada.

According to the Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA), Benguet potato farmers reported a double yield with the use of seed potatoes from Canada.

On 10 May, a meeting was held between AuSPICA, members of the Tasmanian Certified Seed Potato Scheme (known as TasSeed) and invited industry representatives.

Indian Farmers’ movements have decided to put up a fight to ensure that farmers’ seed freedoms are not violated in any way. Many speakers also also felt that PepsiCo India should pay compensation to the Gujarat potato farmers involved.

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

ILVO, HOGENT and TRIAS in Belgium are hosting a Peruvian delegation to the Food Pilot (ILVO, Melle, Belgium) to get the production of so-called “tuntas” (freeze dried potatoes) in a small cooperative factory in the Andes.

Según Felix Molenaar, de la empresa homónima de la localidad holandesa de Haarlem, el mercado de la patata de mesa se encuentra bastante tranquilo.

De la mano del Director de Operaciones de Patatas Meléndez, Juan Manuel Coello, AgroNews ha visitado una de las parcelas en las que Santiago Domínguez, uno de los agricultores de referencia para el sector ha iniciado los arranques.