Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 35 INTERNATIONAL NEWS Growers welcome trials on Irish variety GROWERS in Rwanda have welcomed the government’s ongoing trials on the use of agricultural biotechnology in producing a new Irish potato variety resistant to late blight disease. Scientists from the International Potato Centre (CIP) are using bioengineering to transfer resistance genes from wild potato relatives into varieties that are already popular with farmers and consumers in the country. Potatoes cover 3.9% of Rwanda’s total cultivated area and Irish potatoes are the third most popular food crop in the country. However, the average productivity of potatoes is 10 tonnes per hectare which is low, compared to the yield potential of more than 30 tonnes. The new potato variety could also increase productivity, Athanase Nduwumuremyi, a senior scientist at the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Development Board (RAB) revealed in an article in The New Times. Rwanda projects to increase potato yield per hectare from 13.5 tonnes in 2021 to 14 tonnes in 2024. Grown on 106,236 hectares across the country, projected production is set to increase from 1,194,677 tonnes in 2021 to 1,487,304 tonnes in 2024, according to the strategic plan for the agricultural sector. Athanase said use of the new potato variety will go in line with the biosafety law. “The biosafety law has all guidelines although it is not yet passed. The draft law is in the Prime Minister’s o ce after coming from the law reform commission. What we are doing now is to get approval based on the law governing research in general.” “Before the new variety is released to farmers, a biosafety law will be in place. Otherwise there will be ministerial orders or guidelines and the Food and Drugs Authority will check if the variety meets standards as food and seed,” he said. He estimates thatthe new variety will be ready for distribution to farmers by 2025. Panels help supplier who is concerned about demand WHILE concerns about meeting consumer demand this year are never far from the mind of one Italian operator from the Campania area, storage is something he is less concerned about, having installed energy-e cient panels before the energy crisis hit. Francesco Provvisiero said his company is currently buying French potatoes in 1300 kg jumbo bags, at €0.35 per kilo. Demand from Italy, Spain and Portugal is high and the company needs to meet this with a supply of French potatoes before starting with the Italian crop in May/June, he said in a recent interview. “There will certainly be no shortage of consumption, because potatoes are a mass product,” he said. “This year, although the purchase price of the tuber seed is not yet known, we expect higher quotations than those for consumption, also because transportation costs, which are clearly growing, will a ect the purchase prices even more. This time it will be necessary to have substantial capital available to face the new campaign.” One key issue for Italian potato traders at the moment is the issue of cold storage, which, given energy price increases, will have a major impact on purchase prices. But seven years ago, Francesco’s company decided to instal photovoltaic panels to be energy e cient, a move he said will make a real di erence this year, when fellow suppliers are facing bills of €40,000 euros and refrigeration costs have added around 15 cents to prices. Heat and drought made for lower yields A potato grower with 1,000 Mu of potato production in Inner Mongolia in Northern China said production is lower than in previous years, mainly owing to the drought and high temperatures over the summer. Prices are relatively firm and are expected to rise further. The drought has reduced crop yield. Despite lower yields, China’s export numbers have risen. Relevant data shows that from January to August 2022, China exported about 220,300 tons of fresh or refrigerated potatoes (excluding seeds), an increase of about 2.57% compared with the same period last year. The total export value was about 119.65 million US dollars, an increase of about 6.43% compared with the same period last year. A