Farmers have been left outraged as Sainsbury’s, among other UK supermarkets, discounted the price of potatoes in the run-up to Christmas to 'less than the cost of production'.

The European Union brought in $4 billion of tariffs earlier this month. The tariffs will affect a whole range of imported products, with grapefruit and sweet potatoes among them.

In mainland Europe the widespread closure of restaurants and other food service outlets has meant that demand for processed potato products has fallen significantly.

AHDB Potatoes will officially launch its Potato Data Centre (PDC) at BP2017 at Harrogate on 22 and 23 November.

Potato stock levels in Great Britain at the end of January 2017 were at a similar level as at the same time in 2016, despite a four-year low yield, according an AHDB survey of grower stocks.

Currency and supply dynamics are affecting the relative price of British processing potatoes compared to supplies from Belgium and the Netherlands.

UK Supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will issue contracts worth £12 million over three years to help support British Agriculture, and become the first retailer in the UK to introduce new long term contracts for potato growers and packers.

Since the start of 2016, potato prices in the United Kingdom have risen more steeply than at any other period since 2000.

Late last week, the Potato Council published its annual GB Potatoes Market Intelligence report, wrapping up all key information about the GB potato market in order to inform decision-making and provide answers for common questions about the industry.

Better relationships between UK potato growers and the rest of the supply chain are needed if the sector is to cope with its current downturn.