There is more relief for South West potato farmers after last week’s announcement that South Australia will reopen its doors to West Australian potatoes.
The State is the last to restart importing WA produce almost two years after the Eastern States implemented a ban following the discovery of tomato potato psyllid in February 2017.
Potato Growers Association of Western Australia executive officer Simon Moltoni said it was a significant positive for suppliers of seed and fresh potatoes. “There is a demand in South Australia right now for certain varieties and it forms an important part of our market overall,” he said.
“When the outbreak of TPP occurred and we lost market access it meant that if we had a surplus of potatoes farmers would just plough them in. This gives us a market we can sell into and even when we get high supply there is still an opportunity to get a return.”
He said it also gave the WA industry a chance to capitalise on a shortage of supply that occur in the east coast market. “Western Australia is a supplier of potatoes for 12 months of the year,” he said.
