Tasmania's potato growers say the state is beginning to feel the effects of the potato shortage impacting mainland Australia. Industry representatives attribute the issue partly to the mop-top virus outbreak, which has limited potato exports from Tasmania to other regions.
Despite shortages across the mainland, potato availability in Tasmania's supermarkets has remained stable for now. Gawler potato farmer Stuart Applebee said the situation could change. "The whole mop-top issue, which is stopping getting potatoes out of the state at the moment, is probably causing a few issues on the mainland," he said. "I think there's more than ample enough potatoes here in the state at the moment."
TasFarmers Vegetable Committee chairperson Nathan Richardson said the embargo preventing Tasmanian potatoes from leaving the state had kept supplies stable locally. "The biggest problem we've got currently is that Tasmanian fresh market potato growers haven't got access to what is currently a well-priced market on the mainland due to the mop-top embargo," he said.
Richardson added that national supply issues were also linked to supermarket procurement policies. "They have, over a long period of time, centralised supply to big growers around the country – whereas before, there were a lot of growers and a lot of suppliers in the market. And when you go and lump several hundreds of thousands of tonnes of supply onto one grower and they have a tough year, then that has an automatic impact on the market. Before, when there might have been 15 or 20 suppliers in the fresh market, then someone might have always been able to pick up the slack."
Responsibility for managing the mop-top virus has been transferred from Biosecurity Tasmania to the potato industry, a move Richardson said had caused unease among growers. "We're neither happy nor sad about that. The farmers really want some answers about how mop-top got here and what steps Biosecurity Tasmania has taken in ensuring that another virus doesn't get in."
Applebee said growers remained cautious about preventing further spread. "We are trying pretty hard not to spread dirt and things like that around the place with everything we are doing. In turn, that is probably costing us because of all the work the contractors have to do to clean down machinery and equipment."
Recent wet weather across parts of the state, including the North West, has further delayed planting. "We're going to be delayed even further by the look of the forecast in the next week," Applebee said. "I probably won't finish planting until the end of November."
Source: Tasmanian Country
