Makikihi Fries in New Zealand is bracing for impact as manager Stewart Hydes pleads with Government, on behalf of the potato industry, to stop a surplus of European product being dumped in New Zealand, according to a report published by Otago Daily Times.
The country’s $1billion-dollar potato industry is at threat of an influx from Europe, which is facing an officially declared 2.6million-tonne surplus of fries created by temporary food service closures during Covid-19 lockdown. Mr Hydes said dumping European surplus had the potential to be a major problem.
“Our total potato harvest in New Zealand is half a million tonnes. European product shipped here would risk seriously impacting upon the local industry and jobs, which could then result in a subsequent potato shortage once the Covid-19 excess was gone.”
He said Australasia would be an ideal place to ship the surplus as it was “far enough away to not impact their market and allow them to be rid of their problem”.
“The concern among these types of things is job losses. New Zealand is already dealing with our own surplus.
