Potato Review

Four get research grants US government body, The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), awarded four potato research grants as part of its Special Research Grants program. The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) invests in potato breeding research that focuses on the development and testing of superior commercial potato varieties, using classical breeding and advanced molecular and biotechnological approaches. The four breeding programs are: University of Maine’s Potato Breeding to Improve Marketability and Resilience to Environmental Stress, Pests, and Diseases (awarded $510,104); Michigan State University’s Development of Multipurpose Potato Cultivars with Enhanced Quality, Disease and Pest Resistance – North Central Region 2021- 23 (awarded $796,725); Texas A&M University’s Potato Breeding and Cultivar Development in the Southwest (awarded $415,359); and Washington State University’s Potato Variety Development in the Northwest (awarded $943,332). USDA-NIFA said the research will help improve potato quality and increase resistance to pests and diseases, leading to commercial variety development and transfer of superior materials to growers. 36 POTATO REVIEW JANUARY 2022 INTERNATIONAL NEWS Global trade volumes of frozenpotato products inUS stabilising ANALYSTS at market and consumer data analytics company, A-INSIGHTS, report that global frozen potato trade volumes for the US stabilised in July, with the year-to-date volume remaining 0.5% above the pre-COVID levels of 2019. Compared to July 2019, the monthly trade volume was down 0.3%, driven mainly by a 7.6% decline in exports from Belgium and a 6.2% decline in exports from the Netherlands. Both countries continue to witness pressure on export prices, but with a below-average harvest and increased raw potato prices, the negative price e ect is expected to phase out in the coming months. North American producers managed to up the monthly export volumes, but not as significant as the more than doubled exports from India. The sharp increase in exports from India is primarily related to the Philippines (+1.5 thousand tons). US imports plentiful The US is importing more vegetables than ever, as a shortage of farm and agricultural workers persists, according to a report from the New American Economy (NAE). The US imported 16 billion pounds of vegetables in 2019. Ban likely tocontinue ABANon potato exports fromPrince Edward Island to the US because of potatowart was forecast to continue long into the new year, according to the island’s AgricultureMinister. Bloyce Thompson told a news conference that everything possiblewas being done to try to prevent the destruction of potatoes and to ensure growers and suppliers were given financial aid. The provincial government announced a program that will provide potato farmers with working or capital loans with a fixed interest rate of four per cent. The government will also help the Island potato industry and a ected trucking companies withwage reimbursements to employers tomaintain their sta during the restrictions. The PEI Potato Board claimsmillions of kilograms of potatoesmay have to be destroyed because of the ban. TheUS border closed to Prince Edward Island seed potatoes after potatowart was found in two PEI fields, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed. The CFIA confirmed potato wart in fields on two separate farms onOctober 1st and 14th after growers submitted “suspect potatoes,” the agency said in an email response to a CBC inquiry. The potatowart fungus is spread through themovement of infected seed potatoes and contaminated soil. It poses no threat to human health or food safety, but is known to decrease yield— the number of good potatoes that can be harvested and sold. The CFIA took immediate action to impose control measures on the a ected fields, it said, to prevent the spread of the fungus. Although no potatoes fromeither farmwere shipped outside of the province, the release said seed potato shipments fromPEI to the U.S. have been “temporarily suspended.” Themovement restrictions do not apply to fresh PEI potatoes for table stock or processing, which continue to be exported domestically and internationally. Trade of seed potatoes between PEI and the USwas shut down in 2000when potatowart was first found on the Island. Since then, newprotocols have been introduced for monitoring and controlling the spread of the fungus, and therewere no trade issues after subsequent discoveries of the fungus, including in 2012 and 2014.