Potato

The great Western food staple – the potato – is rapidly gainingground in consumption throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia.

With the pervasiveness of fast food chains such as McDonaldsand Burger King in these regions, potatoes are most familiar to consumers inthe form of French fries, with potato chips also a highly demanded snack itemfound everywhere at retail outlets.

Of course, both French fries and potato chips are processedproducts derived from either frozen or chipping stock, respectively.Consumption of fresh potatoes has lagged behind processed potatoes in Asialargely due to the fact that the potato competes directly against that greatAsian food staple – rice.

But the US Potato Board (USPB) is determined to increasefresh potato consumption throughout Eastern and Southeastern Asia for the benefitof its growers. Toward that end, the USPB has sought to work with chefs frommajor Southeast Asian restaurant chains creating innovative recipes to betteracquaint local consumers with fresh potatoes.

“We think that developing interesting new recipes for freshpotatoes around a particular national palate and introducing them inrestaurants will yield great results,” says Sarah Mahler, manager ofinternational marketing-table stock.

The USPB also consults with the USDA’s Animal and PlantHealth Inspection Service (APHIS) in the opening of new markets for freshpotatoes. Their efforts recently bore fruit when Vietnam opened its doors to USpotatoes last spring.

According to USDA/ Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) data,South Korea was the leading destination in Asia for US fresh potatoes during2009, at 9283 tonnes, followed closely by Taiwan, at 9125 tonnes.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, a new ‘gourmet’ potato calledPurple Heart is now on the market. Bred by Plant & Food Research, it has asmooth deep purple skin with purple and white flesh. The new potato is said tohave three times the level of antioxidants as a standard potato and containsnearly half of the recommended daily intake of iron.

Four growers and a seed producer have joined forces to exclusivelygrow and market the variety. Eurogrow Potatoes Ltd says the Purple Heart potatowill be marketed as a niche product, mainly for the restaurant trade.

In India, potato prices rose by 3 per cent last week due toincreased demand from the domestic and export markets. Restricted arrivals fromproducing regions also supported the uptrend, reported India’s BusinessStandard.