News on Potatoes for processing from Japan

Calbee Group has partnered with the Shiretoko Shari Agricultural Cooperative to secure a stable supply of potatoes. As part of their collaboration, the agricultural cooperative plans to build a new frozen processing facility, aimed at enhancing production and ensuring consistent potato supply for Calbee's operations.

What happens when Asia’s biggest potato chip maker runs out of potatoes? Japanese snack brand Calbee had to learn the hard way.

Drinks like sake and wine are often appreciated for their regional characteristics that are deeply rooted in the environmental conditions from the crop used. So, why not potato chips too?

Potato growers in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan's second-largest potato-producing region hope to boost their name recognition as a potato producer with a new variety, "Nagasaki Kogane" (Nagasaki Gold), which it filed for registration in 2015.

After several years of negotiations, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) has agreed to allow US chipping potatoes to be transported overland from an international port to an approved processing facility in Kagoshima.