Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW MAY/JUNE 2022 51 INTERNATIONAL Lawmakers pile on the pressure FEDERAL lawmakers led by U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and James Risch, R-Idaho, called on the Biden administration to resolve a trade dispute blocking potato exports to Mexico. In a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the senators and 28 other members of Congress urge the USDA to press its counterpart in Mexico to honor and expedite a trade deal that would resume U.S. fresh potato exports. Those exports would mean $150 million in annual revenue for farmers in Maine and other states. The bipartisan group signing the letter also included U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine. The letter comes after the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service agreed to new demands by the Mexican government that will significantly delay and limit exports to Mexico. However, the U.S. demand is supported by a Mexican Supreme Court ruling and successful site visits made by Mexican authorities to American potato facilities in Colorado. “We write today out of deep concern for the ongoing dispute regarding U.S. fresh potato access to Mexico. It appears that Mexico is continuing to delay restoring this access that was blocked due to legal proceedings initiated by the Mexican potato industry over seven years ago. The cost of this inaction is estimated to be $150 million to U.S. growers on an annual basis,” the lawmakers write. Reopening of Mexican market to US potatoes: Joint statement welcomed by industry THE Mexican market is being reopened to the US for potato supply, it has been announced. A joint announcement by US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Mexico Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Víctor Villalobos has stated that, according to an agreed workplan, the entire Mexican market will be open no later than May 15th for all US table stock and chipping potatoes. The National Potato Council said this was a positive response and praised Secretary Vilsack and the teams at USDA and USTR for their e orts to ensure Mexico lives up to its bilateral trade obligations. “Given the history of this 25-year trade dispute, we are waiting to declare victory until we see durable exports of both fresh processing and table stock potatoes throughout all of Mexico as required by the November 2021 signed agreement,” the organisation said in a statement. “We hope the April site visit by Mexican o cials will be the last hurdle we need to clear and that no last-minute roadblocks will be erected prior to Mexico finally – and permanently – reopening its border to US-grown potatoes. Mexico is the largest export market for US potatoes and potato products, which were valued at $394 million in 2021. Mexico is the second-largest market for fresh potato exports, despite the restriction to the 26-kilometre border region. In 2021 it accounted for 124,449 metric tons valued at $60 million. The US potato industry estimates that access to the entire country for fresh U.S. potatoes will provide a market potential of $250 million per year, in five years. Riots as people queue for potato quota CUBA’S harvest will hit record lows this year, according to the Havana Times. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture has stated that national production will not cover the internal demand in 2022 and will at best reach last year’s levels. Potato consumption in Cuba in 2019 was 151,668 tons, of which 35,272 were imported from the Netherlands and Canada. 2019 is the last year for which international statistics are available since there is no national data for 2020 and 2021. The estimated harvest for this year is 116,396 tons, which falls “far short from national demand” according to specialist Enel Espinosa. He said that of the area dedicated to the crop, 56% was planted “outside the ideal calendar” mainly owing to “lack of inputs,” which will make it di cult to meet demand. It’s a far cry from 1996, when Cuba was a net exporter of potatoes, reaching a production record of 348,000 tons. In 2010 the sale was released from the rationing system, but in 2015 the harvest collapsed (123,000 tons) and the Government had to import to cover the demand, which has led to rationing of potatoes since 2017. Since the pandemic began, the situation has worsened even more and the lines to buy potatoes are several hours long, generating riots and disputes among people to get the pounds of potatoes that the Cuban State allows them to acquire. In February, the Government doubled the price of potatoes due to the rise in the price of agricultural products and the increase in labor costs per employee. One pound of the tuber went from three to five pesos, and six in the case of refrigerated potatoes. A resolution published on those dates in the O cial Gazette established the new price for the collection and retail sale of potatoes harvested with national seed at 9,196.2 centavos per ton, equivalent to 423 pesos per quintal (100 pounds). The potato harvested with imported seed stands at 7,152.46 pesos per ton, or 329 pesos per quintal (100 pounds).