Washington potato growers pay another call on Southeast Asia

The Washington State Potato Commission’s latest trade mission to Southeast Asia focused on customer relations in Vietnam and potato chips in Myanmar. A delegation that included the state Department of Agriculture spent three days in each country between Nov. 6-12. The potato commission has undertaken several trade mission in recent years to Asia, including a trip two years ago that included stops in Vietnam and Myanmar. With the National Potato Council reporting that per capita consumption of potatoes has flattened in the U.S., potato growers are looking overseas for customers. “The international market is more and more important for the potato industry in Washington,” said Ryan Holterhoff, the potato commission’s director of marketing and industry affairs. “That’s where the growth is.” More