The Potato Council should shift its funding emphasis from research and development to more promotion, NFU Scotland has said.
The union was responding to a meeting about the Potato Council’s draft business plan, which includes a proposal to raise the statutory levy on growers and packers.
It said that new promotional work highlighting the nutritional and health benefits of potatoes could be delivered through the Potato Council’s existing ‘One Voice’ campaign.
The current goal of One Voice is for potatoes to be seen as a good food by shoppers, politicians and the media, and remain a staple on British plates.
Commenting on the NFUS submission, Fife potato producer Russell Brown said:“The number one issue faced by the sector right now is the continuing fall in consumption of fresh potatoes, and the impact that has on farmgate prices.
“Diminishing demand for potatoes has, unfortunately, seen retailers pay less and less attention to the marketing of the product. Sales, as a result, are currently caught in a downwards spiral that we must turnaround.”
Brown, who is also chairman of NFU Scotland’s Potatoes Working Group, said growers believe market forecasting is another area that would benefit from additional levy spend. “Given the current difficulties, better balancing of likely demand with plantings could help to reduce the risk of over-supply, which has a crippling impact on prices to growers,” he said.
“The existing ‘One Voice’ Campaign could form the basis of an enhanced promotion effort. Messages about the health benefits of potatoes, in comparison to other carbohydrate sources, need to be put in front of consumers in a medium that they regularly access, such as consumer magazines.”
Brown said growers “continue to be appalled” at the number of green potatoes appearing on retail shelves, and said more focus on promotion could include talking to supermarkets to address this issue.
“A move away from plastic packaging would help to reduce the green potato problem and we understand that where retailers use more suitable paper packaging, it helps increase the perception of potatoes as a valuable product,” he said.
He concluded that if the spend of levy funds can be seen to be boosting consumption, growers would be better able to see the value in levy contributions.
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