Fiji plans to grow their own potatoes

FIJI will soon be reducing the amount of potatoes imported into the country if a potato planting scheme introduced yesterday becomes successful.

And chips manufacturer Flour Mills of Fiji has assured it would work closely with farmers to use the locally produced potatoes in chip production.

Under this new scheme, 10 tonnes of potato seeds imported from Australia were distributed to farmers who have been designated as potato growers.

This is a bid by the government, under its Import Substitution program, to reduce imports and boost local food production.

Fiji currently imports 16,000 tonnes of potatoes annually at a cost of $17million.