Potato News from Oceania

The Daily Mail Australia reports that Pringles chips - sold in cardboard cylinders - have shrunk in size in Australia and are being sold in a deceptively similar package of the same height but with a smaller diameter.

Kangaroo Island (South Australia) potato producer Peter Cooper has been named the 2016 Rabobank Potatoes South Australia and Ruralco Industry Award winner.

National vegetable industry body AUSVEG is concerned that Australian potato growers will be left out of pocket following Australia’s largest potato supplier entering receivership in early May.

On Fiji, planting season for potatoes has begun in the Western division.

Frozen French fry maker Simplot Australia has agreed to pay its Tasmanian potato suppliers 5 per cent more, phased in over the next three years.

After Oakville Produce (formerly known as the Moraitis Group) entered receivership earlier this month, questions arise how that could happen to a company good for almost a quarter of the Australian Potato market.

Australian shoppers can expect grocery prices to keep coming down as Coles and Woolworths battle it out to prevent more Australians defecting to Aldi, one retail expert has predicted.

The Mitolo family will be the first Australian farmers to produce Europe’s popular potato variety, the Gourmandine.

Western Australia's potato industry will be deregulated in July and the highly restrictive Potato Marketing Corporation (PMC) abolished by the end of the year.

tna, a leading food processing and packaging solutions provider, recently announced the appointment of Magdy El Dessouky to the position of general manager for Australia.

Potatoes Victoria is being launched today to replace the previous Victorian Potato Growers Council. A division of the Victorian Farmers Federation, Potatoes Victoria has been representing Victorian potato growers for more than 20 years.

Potato growers say the West Australian industry has 'collapsed' amid speculation over the timeline for deregulation.

Heat and Control has helped a snack manufacturer take processing capabilities to a new level with another delivery of the
company’s innovative vacuum fryer technology, the Unitized Vacuum Fryer (UVF)

Australian Researchers are working closely with the country's potato industry to investigate the potential for the highly destructive Tomato-potato psyllid (TPP) to enter Australia using natural pathways.

Australian vegetable grower body AUSVEG has applauded the decision of the Papua New Guinean Government to temporarily lift the ban on the import of selected Australian fruits and vegetables - including potatoes - for three months.

The impact of drought and water quality on Australian potatoes could be significantly reduced by a new research project from Potatoes South Australia and Landmark Australia.

Australian potato growers are being reminded to prepare for late blight, a potato disease that strikes when conditions are humid, stagnant and warm.

University of Canterbury researchers have developed potato plants that are potentially resistant to cadmium, a highly toxic metal found in soil which is harmful to crops and can contribute to health issues in humans. End goal is to develop cadmium free potatoes.