News on Potato Stats, Trade, Prices from Africa

Anti-dumping tariffs on frozen French fries imported from the Netherlands and Germany have expired, leaving the South African potato industry vulnerable to ‘dumping’.

The prolonged Covid-19 lockdown has brought more harm to potato production that any other crop being produced in Zimbabwe at the Agricultural Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Trek Antelope Estate in Maphisa, Matabeleland South.

Major fast-food joints rely on imports from as far as Egypt and South Africa for the potatoes they use for French fries.

In Namibia, retailers and importing agents have spent NAD (Namibian Dollar) 120.1 million (USD 8.4 million) between 2019 and 2020 on importing washed potatoes to meet local demand.

Potatoes South Africa (PSA) has launched a bold new awareness campaign in a bid to create perspective about the resilience and performance of the potato industry’s stakeholders in the country, especially in the context of South Africa recently marking the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 disruption.

Kenya’s potato production could hit 2.5 million tonnes in 2021 up from the estimated 2 million tonnes produced in 2020, the industry said on Friday.

The Nakuru County Government has announced that implementation of the potato regulations including the 50kg packaging rule is in force and must be adhered to immediately.

Viazi (potatoes in Kiswahili) are grown in Kenya since the 19th century. The production and consumption of the potato have grown steadily since.

Since mid-June, potato prices have been on average 46% higher than in the same period last year. In four months, the average market price of a 10kg
bag has rocketed from below R35 to R83.

The government of Zimbabwe, in conjunction with Kutsaga Research Station has embarked on a seed potato multiplication programme from mini-tuber to commercial seed potato.

Egypt has exported a total of 674,480 tons of potatoes to world market, especially the European Union countries, since April 2020, according to Head of Central Administration of Plant Quarantine at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Ahmed al-Attar.

A trade delegation including Western Australian (WA) potato industry leaders toured Egypt in November, confirming the potential to export at least 10,000 tonnes of seed potatoes.

The World Potato Congress is pleased to announce that Mr. Wachira Kaguongo has accepted to become the World Potato Congress Inc.’s (WPC) newest International Advisor.

During his presentation at the official opening of the 11th African Potato Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, World Potato Congress President Romain Cools announced the continuous effort of his organization to be a partner of the African potato sector.

Potato production in Cameroon is dominated by the west and northwest regions, data from GIZ’s Green Innovation Centers for the Agriculture and Food Sector project (GIZ-Procisa) showed.

Egypt has succeeded in opening new markets for agricultural crops, including potatoes.

The Algerian Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries Abdelkader Bouazghi said that Algeria would stop the import of seed potatoes in 2021

The permanent secretary in the ministry of Agriculture, Mr Mathew Mtigumwe, and the Dutch Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Jeroen Verheul, signed the document on behalf of the two governments.