News on Potato Trade from Australia

AUSVEG has reviewed Global Trade Atlas import data to better understand: the changes in the levels of potato imports pre- and post-COVID, as well as
the changes in import levels over the last 12-months as growers have faced significant increases in costs of production.

Backed overwhelmingly by industry, the Potato Growers Association of Western Australia (PGAWA) is moving forward to establish an export entity by May 2020.

In Western Australia, the potato industry is embarking on a major effort to develop export opportunities

The government of Western Australia has announced that it has succeeded in regaining market access for Western Australian potatoes in all of Australia, following the detection of tomato potato psyllid in February 2017.

In Western Australia, a surveillance program to assess if the last year detected tomato potato psyllid (TPP) carries the zebrachip disease pathogen (CLso), did not identify a single case of the pest - with over 10.000 psyllids tested.

​More than 300 seed potato farmers across South Australia and Victoria will be celebrating after last week's breakthrough in securing new market access to Indonesia.

For almost 50 years, Bernie White has grown potatoes in the rich, red, volcanic soil of Trentham, the traditional potato patch in Victoria, Australia. Now he doesn't know if his farm has a future.

Alan Parker looked out onto the farm business he had spent his entire life establishing. The West Australian seed potato grower will know in the next six weeks whether his lifelong career will continue.

Scottsdale farmers Jerrod and Susan Nichols are preparing to plant their 2016 spring crops, but say processing potatoes for McCain would not be in the mix unless prices lifted.

A significant rise in potato imports into Australia is forecast for 2016, sparking concern about the profitability and competitiveness of the Australian potato industry over the coming months.

Western Australia's potato industry will be deregulated in July and the highly restrictive Potato Marketing Corporation (PMC) abolished by the end of the year.

Tasmania's fresh potato growers are building mainstream markets for unusual potatoes, all the way to Dubai.

South Australia will actively pursue the Asian market for export of its crisping and seed potatoes.

Tony Galati, owner of the West Australian Produce Chain 'Spud Shed', wants to add up to four extra stores to his existing Spud Shed network over the next few years and is working on opening up export markets for Western Australia potatoes.

The South Australian Government is partnering with Potatoes South Australia to gain export access and expand the state’s seed and fresh potato industry within the growing international markets of Thailand and Malaysia.

Australia’s industry association of vegetable and potato growers, AUSVEG, has welcomed the announcement by the Federal Minister for Agriculture that the Federal Government will review the current process by which biosecurity threats are assessed.

The Government of the Australian State Victoria is working to facilitate seed potato exports to Indonesia before the end of the year

The Australian vegetable and potato industries are calling for consumers to be given certainty about the food they are eating once-and-for-all, through refined Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) laws, according to AUSVEG.