News on The Potato Supply Chain from New Zealand

New Zealand-bred Crop78 is transforming the global french fry industry with high yields, improved disease resistance and better storage performance. Developed over 15 years, the potato is now grown across North America, Europe, Australia and India.

New Zealand successfully delivered its first container of fresh potatoes to Taiwan in August 2026 after securing phytosanitary market access. The shipment opens opportunities to diversify exports and strengthen long-term prospects for potato growers.

Mosgiel Taieri College students have created Winter Warrior, a potato-based windscreen spray that prevents frost. Developed for Young Enterprise, it is applied overnight to stop ice forming, aims eco-friendly, about $20 bottle. in testing phase.

New Zealand potato growers are focusing on turning higher yields into greater value as they navigate fluctuating markets, rising costs, and increasing climate pressures, according to Potatoes New Zealand Chief Executive Kate Trufitt.

French fries are part of a booming USD 18 billion sector, projected to reach USD 24 billion by decade’s end. Plant & Food Research, part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute, has been recognised for creating a new potato variety tailored to this market.

The recent study by McCain on potato production in New Zealand, following a regenerative agriculture approach, presents promising results for the future implementation of these practices.

Three years ago, 5% of Canterbury’s potatoes were being lost to a disease which threatened to shut down the industry. Now the pest responsible has been driven off thanks to Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University researchers.

Six months into the Potatoes New Zealand chief executive role and Kate Trufitt has embraced the challenges and opportunities with enthusiasm.

The New Zealand Seed Potato Certification Scheme was established in 1948 and has been running continuously since then.

By adopting integrated pest management (IPM) practices growers are not on their own, Australian entomologist, Dr Paul Horne, told Pukekohe potato growers at a Potatoes New Zealand research update breakfast meeting in late March.

Potatoes New Zealand has announced the resignation of its chief executive, Chris Claridge. He has been in the role for a total of seven years, since 2015.

Exports of frozen fries from Belgium and the Netherlands to New Zealand have more than doubled in the quarter ending July 2022. These exports will be arriving presently, given shipping lead-times.

When is a potato not a potato? When it's a tuber of a gourd, according to Guinness World Records. A New Zealand couple who believed they had dug up the world's largest potato in the garden of their small farm near Hamilton

A New Zealand couple named Donna and Colin Craig-Brownla found a 25-pound potato by surprise buried in their backyard and ended up naming it Doug.

Two trials in Pukekawa, New Zealand, are showing some early promise for potato growers when it comes to greater control of the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella (PTM).

While in the Northern hemisphere we are harvesting potatoes and getting ready for winter, this is not the case in the Southern hemisphere. This article offers tips on how to grow potatoes in your New Zealand backyard.

Potatoes New Zealand is asking the New Zealand government to give urgent consideration to imposing short-term measures limiting the importation into New Zealand of heavily discounted frozen potato chips to avoid a food security threat.

Farmers are among New Zealand's essential workers, so farms and fields are remaining busy keeping food on Kiwis' plates. And despite panic-buying, there is no shortage. New Zealand could survive on potatoes alone.