News on The Potato Supply Chain from Australia

AUSVEG has welcomed the signing of a work and holiday Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian and Vietnamese governments, which could assist Australian vegetable and potato growers fill labour shortages during peak harvesting times.

Potato farmers in south-east Victoria (Australia) are missing out on profits as potatoes lie in paddocks, waiting for demand to pick up so they can be harvested.

AUSVEG remains wholly unconvinced of the benefits of a grower-funded generic potato marketing campaign despite claims from the Potato Marketing Corporation of Western Australia that the initiative has been a success in that state.

Potato growers in Western Australia have invested heavily in a potato marketing program aimed at stopping the decline in consumption per capita of fresh potatoes.

After a 10-year drought, well above average rainfall in New South Wales (Australia) means a rich seed potato crop for the few farmers left in the Crookwell area.

Australian families are playing an increasing role in consumer decisions to buy potatoes, according to the latest data from the Potato Tracker project.

In South Australia, McCain has sold its former potato processing factory at Penola to a meat processor, to the dismay of some local growers.

The weather might be warming up [well, in Australia that is, not here in Canada...PP] but that isn’t stopping Aussie consumers tucking in to a hearty serve of mashed potato, according to the latest wave of the industry-funded Potato Tracker project.

The South Australian Government is partnering with Potatoes South Australia to gain export access and expand the state’s seed and fresh potato industry within the growing international markets of Thailand and Malaysia.

The first wave of results from the Australian industry-funded Potato Tracker project have been released, shedding encouraging new light on purchase triggers and consumption habits relating to fresh potatoes.

AUSVEG CEO Mr Richard Mulcahy has welcomed this afternoon’s announcement by the Federal Agriculture Minister, The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP, of the composition of the Board that will head up the new research and development body for horticulture.

Two of South Australia's biggest potato growers are fighting the State Government in court over changes to their water allocations.

Australian potato growers are set to gain fresh insights into how consumers view their products as part of a new market research project that has started this month.

Potatoes South Australia chief executive Robbie Davis says potatoes are widely considered fattening, high in bad carbohydrates, inconvenient and boring. She calls for a national image campaign.

Crop management and protection practices that help prevent soil-borne diseases in potato crops will be the key focus of a special potato research and development (R&D) workshop to be held in Berrigan, NSW, Australia

Yum Tasmania Gourmet Potatoes are now being used by top chefs and home cooks across Australia and overseas to add colour to their dishes

Predicta Pt, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) soil testing service for the potato industry, has received the John Deere Productivity Partner Award at the 2014 AUSVEG Awards for Excellence in June.

Potato farmers are looking to take control of the Penola Safries plant to use it for storage.