News on Potato Cultivation from Oceania

Australia faces a potato shortage after its toughest season in a decade. Extreme weather in South Australia, the nation’s main potato region, cut yields, causing supermarket shortages. Mitolo Family Farms cites heat, cold, and drought as main factors.

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.

On April 11, 45 potato growers and industry stakeholders gathered near Pemberton for a high-tech field event coordinated by PotatoLink and the Potato Growers Association of WA.

Nine Global Potato Industry Award Winners were honoured at the 12th World Potato Congress in Adelaide, Australia.

Scientists have developed a more planet-friendly way to produce fertilizer, which is an essential component of global food systems.

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

HarvestEye - a sensor that measures tuber quality during harvest - is now available to potato growers in Australia. Elders was appointed as the exclusive reseller of the system in the country.

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.

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, a Canadian pension fund, acquires the majority stake in Mitolo Family Farms, the largest potato grower and packer in Australia.

Potato farmers in the Ballarat region are demanding a pay rise for their produce, claiming McCain Foods does not pay a fair price for the popular mealtime vegetable. Last season McCain Foods paid growers an average of AUD 0.33 (about USD 0.23)

Potato processor Simplot Australia has refused to budge on its second price offer to Tasmanian farmers for their potato crop this season. Farmers met on Wednesday night to discuss the impasse with the company.

Farmers have rejected a second price offer made by food manufacturer Simplot for their potato crop this season.

West-Australian Potato farmers are warning that growers will walk away from the industry as cost pressures make the staple crop unviable in Australia.

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.

Nicole Stevens traveled to Australia from the United Kingdom after completing her science and tourism management studies. Her career pathway has now diverted to horticulture.

The World Potato Congress is extremely pleased to present its next webinar on Tuesday, April 6, 2021/Wednesday, April 7, 2021, with Dr. Paul Horne, Entomologist, and owner and Director of IPM Technologies Pty Ltd., Hurstbridge, Victoria, Australia.

The recent finalization of a takeover of Thomas Foods International’s potato business and a spike in demand through the coronavirus pandemic has cemented Mitolo Group as Australia’s largest fresh spud producer.

Following eight years at the helm of Potatoes South Australia, Robbie Davis will be stepping down from her role of Chief Executive at the end of 2020.