Australian Shoppers Share Excitement over ALDI Freezers Filled with Potato Chips

Australian Shoppers Share Excitement over ALDI Freezers Filled with Potato Chips Potato production suffered heavily due to excessive rains and flooding in major potato-growing areas in Australia in 2022.

In a social media post in early April, a shopper shared pictures of ALDI freezers filled with bags of frozen potato products. The shoppers' excitement about finding frozen chips and fries in the supermarket made international headlines. A customer shared on their Facebbok pages that haven't seen them for months, but got some this week. Another said that Belgium is the land of chips and they make the best! Promise!

Shortage of frozen potato products like chips, wedges, and gems first made headlines in December and January. Due to several rounds of heavy rains and floods last year, the potato crop suffered severely in Australia. The Aussie processing units that use locally grown spuds experienced a significant fall in supplies of the primary raw material.

As a result, their production volume fell sharply, eventually hitting the supermarkets' inventory of processed potato products. The lower potato yield resulted from delayed paddock preparations and crop planting due to a wetter-than-usual spring in 2022.

While some of these products were missing from other supermarkets, Woolworths, Coles, and ALDI imposed purchasing limits to ensure the precious supplies lasted longer.

A Coles spokesman:
 

"Poor weather in the eastern states has affected the supply of some frozen potato products across the industry. We thank customers for their patience while we work hard with suppliers to minimise disruption and return stock to normal levels in the coming months."

Right now, industry sources informed, potato harvest is underway in Australia's two largest potato-growing areas – Tasmania and Victoria. Chip factories are operating at capacity and potato products from local factories is soon expected to be available in the supermarkets.

Katherine Myers, Vice President of Horticulture at the Victorian Farmers Federation, told ABC Rural that she expects the current harvest to meet short-term demand. Fresh harvest in South Australia and the Victoria and NSW Riverina have made the supplies normal for now.
  More potato supplies are expected to hit the market from Central Highlands around Ballarat. But the total yield is expected to be down this year in Australia and neighbouring New Zealand, battered by the worst storm in a decade.

Leigh Elphinstone, Tasmanian Simplot potato grower:
 

"Because there is a smaller volume planted than desired, I wouldn't be surprised if there's going to be the same chip shortage for next year. Experts warn that it might not be the last time we see empty frozen shelves and freezers."

PotatoPro reported that supermarket chain Woolworths confirmed a significant shortage of processed potato products, particularly packet potato chips, in its stores. The shortage also affected restaurants as they were forced to serve hand-cut chips or remove them from the menu.

The wholesale potato price spiked at least 25% due to the shortage. Potatoes are the biggest vegetable commodity grown in Australia. Among the local potato chip brands, Smiths Chips, Kettle Chips, Thins Chips, and Samboy Chips are prominent. In 2022, it exported seed potatoes to South Korea worth USD 8.7 million.