Potato marketing firm Higgins has appointed Dutchman Ab Basting as sales and procurement manager of its French subsidiary Pommies Ltd. The move is the latest step in the Higgins Group's bid to become a leading supplier of potatoes to Europe's major processors and supermarkets.

Basting will be based in northern France but will operate throughout Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

'the size of countries such as France and Germany means there are still new land opportunities for growing potatoes which need to be capitalised on,' said group md David Higgins.