News on The Potato Supply Chain from United Kingdom

The Potato Council’s first estimate of total potato plantings for the 2013 crop year in Great Britain is 121,200 hectares.

Children across the United Kingdom have been harvesting new potato crops as part of the Potato Council’s primary school project, Grow Your Own Potatoes.

Sainsbury’s has relaxed the product specification of Scottish potatoes to support farmers through one of the toughest seasons. The run of wet weather this season has left many Scottish farmers with crops of smaller potatoes with increased blemishes.

In the United Kingdom, the Potato Council is seeking to raise awareness for the new season crop, with a TV advertising burst to hit screens in July.

Greenvale, the UK’s leading potato supplier, will be celebrating the return of this season’s British Gems baby new potatoes in Sainsbury’s with a marketing campaign heralding the great British summer and a season jam-packed with iconic British events.

Tesco stores in the South West of England will receive the first Cornish potatoes from Branston this week.

At Snackex, Lamine Lahouasnia, Head of Packaged Food Research at Euromonitor International, will provide a strategic insight and analysis on how retailer own brands are developing and what manufacturers are doing to keep one step ahead of private labels.

The UK government has stepped up its efforts to control the potato disease ring rot.

Greenvale, the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes, has installed 210 solar photovoltaics (PV) panels at its site in Floods Ferry, Cambridgeshire.

Puffin Produce has significantly increased capacity at its Withybush potato packing plant near Haverfordwest after a £850,000 investment, supported by Barclays to introduce two new state of the art packing lines.

Branston, one of the UK’s largest packers and suppliers of potatoes, has put 941 solar photovoltaic panels on the south-facing roof of its factory in Ilminster.

Herbert has launched the brand new Pyramid Grading Screen, a ground breaking new technology designed specifically for elongated potato varieties.

As Allan Stevenson steps down after five years as Chair of Potato Council and member of the AHDB Board, David Piccaver, a leafy salad producer from South Lincolnshire enthusiastically takes on this challenging and exciting role.

Potato company Produce Investments on Friday reported a loss as wet weather in 2012 impacted crops and pushed up costs.

The variable weather conditions in the United Kingdom, leading to a dramatic drop in potato stocks made 2012 the worst year in living memory for growers.

Apartes mas importantes del documento "Best practice for seed handling and storage"que recientemente publicó el Potato Council del Reino Unido.

Asda has withdrawn its Smart Price Potato Salad (250g) with a 'use by' date of 26 March 2013, because it might contain peanuts.

The Irish Lumper potato has been cultivated once more by County Antrim farmer Michael McKillop who has a keen interest in history.