Potato Review

50 POTATO REVIEW MAY/JUNE 2023 INTERNATIONAL NEWS A boot-iful initiative BOOTS full of free potatoes have given a boost to local food banks on Prince Edward Island, after growers participated in a “Come Fill Your Boots” initiative. Islanders were able to top up their boots, buckets, or sacks with PEI potatoes at four locations where growers collected donations to support people facing food insecurity. The event began last year when a trade dispute with the US over the discovery of potato wart on some PEI fields prevented the local product from being shipped to the province’s largest market. While growers can now ship table potatoes to America, organisers say there is still plenty of need to keep this kind of event going, particularly as food prices rise. Aron takes the helmas seed groupmoves to licensed BREEDER HZPC Americas Corp has announced that a new president, Aron Derbidge, will step into the role to lead HZPC operations across the United States and Canada next month. Aron brings more than 20 years of experience in developing and marketing seed potatoes as well as supporting businesses in commercial growth across the US and Canada. Since joining HZPC Americas Corp two years ago, as Senior Vice President of Sales, Aron has focused on better understanding how to strengthen research and development programs to move the potato industry in North America forward. Aron has been a long-term potato industry leader and was recently appointed to the Potatoes USA Board of Directors and serves as the Potato Section Chair with the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). He said: “As we shift our business model from direct seed sales to a licensed seed sale model, I’m looking forward to seeing the ways in which we collaborate with our partners across the value chain to help them stay ahead and continue growing.” Je™ Scramlin will step down as current president, although he will still work with the HZPC Americas Corp team on special projects, including supporting Potato Glory (a brand owned by the Royal HZPC Group) projects that drive demand for and increase appreciation of potatoes. RecordUS potato exports COMPARED to 2021, volume sales declined -4.2% but were higher than 2018 and 2020 (fresh weight equivalent). The value of US potato exports rose across all potato types (frozen, fresh, dehydrated, seed, and chips), resulting in an 11% increase from the previous year. Global price hikes and inflation can be attributed to this growth. Demand for US potato products remained strong throughout 2022, showing that the slight decrease in export volume resulted from the tight supply. Over the year, the top export markets for US potatoes were Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines, in descending order. The value of US frozen potato exports rose by 13.8%, reaching $1.34 billion, while volume decreased -2.5% compared to 2021. The top destinations for US frozen potatoes were Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the Philippines. In 2022, U.S. frozen shipment volumes to Japan and South Korea increased, while shipments to Mexico and the Philippines decreased slightly compared to 2021. Fresh potato sales rose 9% to $287 million, however shipment volume, including both table-stock and chipping potatoes for processing, decreased by -9.7%. Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Taiwan were the top export markets for U.S. fresh potatoes. While fresh shipments to most markets decreased, expanding market access for U.S. fresh potatoes beyond Mexico’s border region led to an increase in fresh shipments to Mexico of nearly 10%. The value of dehydrated potatoes increased by 1.1% in 2022, reaching $217.6 million for the year. However, the volume of U.S. dehydrated potato shipments declined -3.2%. Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the United Kingdom were the top markets for U.S. dehydrated potatoes in 2022. Dehydrated potato shipments to Canada and the UK were up from 2021, while shipments to Mexico and Japan decreased in 2022. The shipment volume of seed potatoes and finished chips increased by 28.8% and 2.2%, respectively, compared to 2021. The export value in 2022 amounted to $16.3 million for seed potatoes and $211.6 million for potato chips. Federal Court hearing scheduled regarding PEI. potato seeds A JUDICIAL review was scheduled to be heard last week in the Federal Court in Charlottetown regarding an application by the PEI Potato Board challenging the federal government’s decisions involving the restriction of potato seed exports. The potato board filed the application in June last year, against the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the minister of agriculture and agri-food, following wart findings. The application is asking the court to set aside ongoing government decisions since November 2021, that prohibited seed potato movement within Canadian and US markets owing to findings of wart.