Weather troubles early potato harvest in New Zealand

Sweet earthy flavour, smooth texture and skin so delicate, it rubs off in your hand. Nothing says summer like new potatoes. Served with a drizzle of olive oil or knob of butter, included in a warm salad or roasted to perfection, new potatoes are a fleeting early summer treat that are available in store for a limited time.

In the Northern hemisphere the time of the early potatoes has come and gone, but not so in New Zealand

Potatoes New Zealand chief executive Champak Mehta said the harvesting of new potatoes began in Pukekohe in September and will progress southwards as the weather gets warmer, with the Canterbury harvest getting under way in late November.

However, Mr Mehta said growers around the country were reporting that weather conditions were causing a bit a of a harvesting headache - especially getting the delicate new season's potatoes out of the ground safely.

"It's too hard to tell what the impact will be on the main crop when we harvest it next year, although in these conditions, it does make planting a little challenging," he said.

"It also makes the harvesting of the new potatoes a little bit challenging ... New potatoes have a very delicate skin, you can just flick them off with your fingers, and if the ground's wet they're hard to handle and they can get damaged more easily because they're very, very delicate."

Potatoes are officially New Zealand’s favourite vegetable – last year New Zealanders consumed $119m of them.

New Zealanders love the versatility and convenience of potatoes – they’re available year round, and are an affordable and highly nutritious vegetable.