The impact of Covid-19 on the chip industry in the Northern Hemisphere is putting locally grown and processed hot potato chips at the local chippie under threat, writes Sally Blundell in this news story published by NZ Herald. The problem? Quiet streets and empty bars in Covid-ridden Europe have resulted in an estimated 1.7 million tonne surplus of raw potato material.
“People can’t go out, have a beer and buy some chips,” Potatoes NZ CEO Chris Claridge told Frank Film. “That means there’s a big lump of frozen fries that’s got to go somewhere. Our economy’s working, they are sending it here, it is as simple as that.”
Claridge is looking for Government action to protect New Zealand potato farmers from the influx of frozen fries grown and processed in Europe undercutting their locally grown equivalent.
Already, packets of imported frozen fries from Belgium are being sold at nearly half the price of locally produced chipped spuds in New Zealand supermarkets. Are the Europeans selling at below the cost of production? “We know they are,” Claridge said.
The video below can also be watched on the Frank Film YouTube channel here
Source: NZ Herald. Original story here
