Potato Review

8 POTATO REVIEW JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS Investment upped to help with storage issues Ethylene gas company Restrain has upped its manufacturing investment to find a solution to the gap left in the potato storage sprout suppression market following the non- renewal of CIPC in the European market. The company increased its manufacturing capacity at its production facility in The Netherlands to provide the capacity needed to fill the gap left by CIPC. Restrain’s generators have been used for potato storage for more than 14 years and are fitted with sensors that maintain a stable, low level of ethylene, which is vital for the safe storage of potatoes. The generators have a 20 litre fuel capacity, so daily filling is not required. Global Sales Director Dirk Garos said: “We completely redesigned our machines, taking the manufacturing in house to improve machine quality and investing heavily in the development of our sensor technology. This means our new B100 and B200 generators require limited annual maintenance and are fully calibrated before leaving our site, making them ready to use straight away.” Restrain technology offers a sustainable, chemical free solutions, he said. “Seeing that the processing sector might need alternative solutions to CIPC, we invested in multiple processing variety trials to ensure that we have robust data for processing customers. Our results show that fry colours are preserved, there is no need for a delay between storage and processing and the potatoes are completely residue free.” Restrain is priced in line with CIPC and customers do not need to pay for the machines themselves. They are supplied free of charge, with customers paying a fee on a per tonne basis for the crops they are storing. Restrain has also invested heavily in ensuring regulatory approval of its ethylene product for use on potatoes for table, processing and seed. Restrain operates across 30 countries worldwide in sectors including potato and onion storage, tomato, bell pepper and banana ripening, with full regulatory approval. McCain Foods addresses biodiversity McCain Foods has become a founding member of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) coalition of leading companies. The business-led coalition aims to gather forward-thinking, agriculture-centric companies to take action to protect and restore cultivated and natural biodiversity within their value chains. Participating companies have analysed their value chains, from farm to fork, to identify the most impactful levers to protect and nurture biodiversity. OP2B’s focus is on regenerative agricultural practices, product portfolio diversification, restoration and high value ecosystems. President and CEO of McCain Foods, Max Koeune said: “At McCain we are committed to addressing the increasing impact climate change is having on global agricultural systems, on our grower partners and on our business – including the promotion of regenerative agriculture at scale. However, no one company can address these global issues alone and OP2B offers a strong platform for collaborative, impactful and positive action by a broad range of major stakeholders.” “Exceptional year” for international seed company Despite a dry summer leading to lower yields for European seed potato growers, the past year has been ‘exceptional’ according to international potato breeder HZPC. The Netherlands-based company which carries out worldwide field trials and specialises in breeding, seed potato trading and concept development, recently announced that its consolidated net turnover for the 2018/2019 financial year was €350 million. This is significantly higher than the previous year (€303 million). The gross margin amounts to €64 million (€ 55 million last year) and the net result increased from €4.7 million to €9.4 million. CEO of HZPC Holding Gerard Backx said seed potato acreage increased, while yields in tonnage per hectare were significantly lower than normal for seed potato growers. “Despite these low yields, HZPC Holding’s total volume of seed potatoes (both sold and grown under licence by its partners) only decreased very slightly, from 816,000 tons last year to 815,000 tons this year. We are delighted that this decline has been very limited in a year with a significantly lower yield per hectare than budgeted. This decrease in volume in Europe was compensated by an increase in volume in America and Asia. HZPC actively invests in the various markets on these continents and is seeing its turnover in these markets rise.”