Potato News from Asia

Starting next week, McDonald’s Japan will offer daigaku imo French fries. Daigaku Imo litterally means “college potato”.
It is a popular sweet potato snack with a sweet sauce, and allegedly gets its unusual name from being a hit with cash-strapped students looking for a cheap yet tasty bite.

PepsiCo identified Myanmar as a potential hub for growing potatoes, thanks to its rich, fertile lands and favorable climate.

Japan's Calbee has introduced a potato chip product about 70% cheaper than what's already on sale in the Philippines. By reducing the size of the bags, the company cut the price to 10 pesos, compared to the 30 pesos to 40 pesos for the larger size bags.

The (Dutch) project ‘Growing out of poverty with the potato’ is trying to make Vietnam self-sufficient in the production of potatoes.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Askar Myrzakhmetov on January 25 met with representatives of the Dutch company Farm Frites which plans to build a plant for production of frozen fried potatoes in the northeast of Kazakhstan.

The Netherlands is exploring the possibility of starting a programme to grow salt-tolerant potatoes in Pakistan.

Latest industry research reveals growing demand for new and innovative F&B products

The Hassan Horticulture Research Extension Station of the University of Horticultural Sciences-Bagalkot (UHS-B) in Karnataka, India, is all set to introduce 35 new varieties of potatoes in the next one to three years.

Potato farming in the Indian state Gujarat has reached an all-time high with over 18 per cent more planting compared to last year.

The government of India Tuesday removed the minimum export price (MEP) of potato, which was imposed in July, to boost shipments of the kitchen staple.

In response to protests of potato farmers, the Indonesian government pledged on Thursday to immediately stop illegal potato imports that have put local farmers at risk.

For a limited time, the Lawson convenience-store chain in Japan is stocking potato chips flavored with blue cheese from Hanabatake Bokujo, a well-known dairy producer from the far north of Japan.

Snack food company Calbee is playing with fire by expecting people to swallow their new concept potato chips: 'Wet Potato, Moist Mild Soy Sauce Flavor.'

Despite a fresh crop arriving at the wholesale market in Vashi (Mumbai area), retail prices of potatoes show no decline

Potato production in Dolakha - a district in Nepal severely affected by the 2015 earthquakes - has dropped sharply this year due to a prolonged winter drought.The drop in output has occurred when farmers in the district had been preparing to brand their products.

MHZPC, a 60:40 JV of Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited (MASL) and HZPC, today inaugurated its modern and state-of-the-art Aeroponic facility in Mohali. The new facility will produce the best of its kind seed potatoes by using an innovative process and latest technology.

Farmer, Hao Jinde, sold his potatoes, over 500 kilograms of them, for 600 yuan (US$88). Instead of setting up a stall on the street, this year Hao sold them to a store belonging to an online shopping platform in his village in Jingle County, a potato growing region in north China’s Shanxi Province.

With the help of Dutch technology and the Chinese people's own hard work, it is possible to double China's potato production as proposed in the current five-year plan, thus making potato a strategic bulk necessity for the Chinese population, said Jan Hak, a Dutch agri-food expert who has been engaged in Sino-Dutch agricultural cooperation in the past decades.