Right now, Washington potato growers can’t keep pace with worldwide demand for French fries, hash browns, tots, potato chips and other processed potato products. Their inability to supply the spuds has meant other countries are entering this the market. Washington’s potato yields are down about 9% over a two-year period in an industry valued at $7.4 billion. The state has about 165,000 acres planted in potatoes.
Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington Potato Commission: “We’re seeing a lot more European French fries and hash browns and Tater Tots in Asia than we ever have. And again, it’s because we’re just not able to keep up with demand.”
About 90% of the spuds grown in Washington are processing potatoes and “that’s kind of unusual compared to most potato states in the country,” Voigt said. “And the reason why we have such a high presence of processing here is because we just have consistent high yields and consistent high quality. And so all the potato processors are really drawn to our area.”
Source: tricitiesbusinessnews.com
