News on Potato Varieties and Seed

Potato farming in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Philippines, spans 11,000 hectares but struggles with limited high-quality seed potatoes. At the World Potato Congress (WPC) 2024 in Adelaide, Australia, experts highlighted Apical Rooted Cuttings (ARC) as a solution to improve yields.

Just one kilometre from the coast, in the Frisian village of Minnertsga, between the windmills, stands the newly built shed with a renewed sorting line of partnership Schuiling.

Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in space and other extreme environments.

Friehe Farms in Washington’s Upper Columbia River Basin combines teamwork and advanced technology to produce high-quality russet potatoes. Drones, GPS-guided planting, and climate-controlled storage enhance efficiency, while traditional four-year crop rotation helps maintain soil health.

Masser Family of Companies (MFC) has announced the newest team member to join their executive leadership team: Tiffany Readinger. She will serve in a newly created role, Vice President of Sales and Category Management.

International Food and Consumable Goods-Egypt, a trusted co-manufacturer, continues to deliver high-quality private-label sweet potato products tailored to brand-specific requirements. With extensive industry experience, the company ensures consistent quality and reliable delivery, meeting the evolving needs of businesses worldwide.

They’re one of the UK’s most loved staples, providing around half of our carbohydrate intake as a nation and supporting over 20,000 farm, transport and manufacturing jobs.

The success of the potato industry is built on growers’ ability to introduce new potato varieties that meet market demands. For example, when snack-size bags of potato chips were popularized, the industry responded by breeding smaller potatoes for smaller chips to fit into the bags.

Seed potato breeding and trading company Royal HZPC Group, expects to achieve a strong result for the financial year 2024/2025 (July – June), with global total tonnage potentially surpassing the 1 million ton mark for the first time.

Aviko, Europe's largest producer of potato products in the out-of-home segment and one of the top five world market leaders, has signed a trade agreement for seed potatoes together with Averis, a subsidiary of potato starch group Royal Avebe and specialised in the development, propagation and trade of starch potato varieties.

El gobierno distribuirá 9,000 semillas mejoradas a los productores locales, creando nuevos semilleros en colaboración con asociaciones agrícolas.

Los Países Bajos son el gran ganador en términos porcentuales, siendo la gran mayoría de las importaciones de origen holandés. El perdedor, el Reino Unido.

Las perspectivas para esta próxima campaña no son muy auspiciosas y de hecho se asemeja mucho a la campaña anterior. Se recomienda realizar pedidos de semilla lo antes posible.

PotatoEurope 2025, scheduled to take place on September 3 and 4 at the Wageningen University & Research (WUR) Field Crops location by the Dutch city Lelystad, has announced the international conference titled 'Integrated Crop Management (ICM) – The Future of Potato Farming.'

Scottish seed potato exports amounted to over 92,000 tonnes in 2023/24. The largest market is Egypt with 60% of exports, followed by Morocco with 10%. The remainder goes to a further 26 countries with volumes varying from thousands of tonnes to a few hundred. 

HZPC Americas Corp. (HZPC) and partners are embarking on a new phase of supporting the North American potato industry with the creation of a Seed Potato Dealer Network.

While it may seem difficult to introduce innovations to the potato sector, Matteo Freddi of 'Freddi 1926 srl' is betting on something new at the Marca trade fair.

Leading potato supplier Branston is once again encouraging schools to sign up for the Grow Your Own Potatoes programme this year, as one of the sponsors of the primary school-based farm-to-fork initiative.