Australian potato shortage ends thanks to strong potato crops
Australia may be out of the woods as far as potato production goes. After a difficult year in 2016,…Australia may be out of the woods as far as potato production goes. After a difficult year in 2016, filled with floods and storms that caused widespread potato shortages, the industry was in need of a break.
According to the Potato Australia chairman, Frank Rovers, who farms in Cora Lynn, the shortage is now over.
“There is no shortage anymore and the new season has well and truly kicked in,” Mr Rovers said.
“We haven’t started harvesting around here yet but growers in Thorpdale have just started.”
A spokesman for AusVeg stated that farmers around the country were expecting a good harvest this year as the weather conditions were better and dryer.
“In late 2016 ... some potato growers struggled to plant and harvest potato crops ... however growers in Western Australia and Queensland were able to reduce the strain on supply,” the spokesman said.
“The latest potato growing season is going well and it is expected that supply will soon pick up again, as long as no major weather events occur before harvest.”