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Japan opens market to fresh potatoes

by Shannon DININNY<br>Associated Writer
| February 23, 2006 8:00 PM

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Japan has lifted its import ban on fresh U.S. potatoes, a move that comes as welcome news for potato growers who have struggled in recent years with sliding prices and the popularity of low-carb diets.

Under the new trade agreement, the United States will be allowed to ship fresh potatoes between February and June for the production of potato chips in Japan. The agreement allows for the import of potatoes from 14 states, including Washington, Idaho and Oregon, which together produce an estimated 60 percent of the nation's potato crop.

"That's a market we've been working on for years," said Allen Floyd, Washington State Potato Commission commissioner and general manager at Harvest Fresh Produce, Inc., in Othello. "It's good news, real good news. It'll give the chip potato growers a chance for just another market for their potatoes, and maybe sometime in the future we can have a chance to market some of our other varieties."

"I'm pleased. We're always happy to have new markets," said Kevin Bouchey, a potato grower in Toppenish, about 20 miles south of Yakima in central Washington. "We know we can deliver quality products to Japan, and at very competitive prices. It's good news."

Japan already is the largest U.S. export market for frozen potatoes, at about $164 million in 2004. But Japan banned fresh potato imports in 1950 due to concerns about plant diseases and pests, and industry leaders had been fighting for access in the decades since.

The decision to conditionally lift the import ban follows a notice from the United States that it has eliminated the potato wart bacteria and has contained the cyst nematode — the specific areas of concern — to a limited area, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in a statement Tuesday.

"Japan's decision is welcome news for U.S. potato growers," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said at a meeting of the National Potato Council on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. "This announcement is an important step in the resumption of trade in fresh potatoes with Japan and underscores the importance of following science-based guidelines that facilitate the safe international trade of agricultural products."

In recent years, some growers in the Pacific Northwest and Canada have supported efforts to reduce fresh potato acreage in North America to boost prices.

Opening the Japanese market to fresh potatoes for production is just the first step to getting total access for all fresh potatoes there, said Matt Harris, director of trade for the Washington Potato Commission.

Potatoes are Washington state's fifth most valuable crop, valued at $460 million in 2004. They remain Idaho's largest agricultural crop, despite lower sales in recent years, at more than $700 million in sales.

"There is potential here for expansion of our chip-stock market, and where we're positioned in the Pacific Northwest, gives us great benefit to have this market opened as another tool in the toolbox for our growers to look at marketing possibilities for their crops," Harris said.

Columbia Basin Herald staff writer Matthew Weaver contributed to this report.