Scottish potato producer eyes Chinese market

A Perthshire potato farmer is returning to China in July to gauge the opportunities for Scottish growers in the country that is the world’s biggest grower of tatties.

 

Peter Grewar’s mission east is to be preceded by a visit to the World Potato Congress in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March. Both visits are courtesy of the Nuffield farming scholarship that he won last year.

 

Mr Grewar, of East Ardler, Meigle, and his family farm 1,600 acres of potatoes in Perthshire and the Black Isle. They expect to grow 300 acres of seed, 200 acres of organic and 1,100 acres of ware, largely for an Airdrie-based processor this year.

 

He sees huge potential for Scotland’s potato growers to eventually ship seed to China – once trade barriers are removed.

He said: “I chose China because they are the world’s biggest producer of potatoes at 74million tonnes.

 

“There’s ongoing efforts by the Scottish Government, SASA (the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency), SCRI (Scottish Crop Research Institute) and other breeders to get the necessary protocols agreed to give us the leeway to put Scottish potatoes into China.

 

“We are at the moment allowed to export mini-tubers, but we are not allowed to export actual seed.

“I really want to use the visit to see what they are doing and get a better handle for the opportunities for seed exports.”

 

His visit is likely to take in Tibet as well as the north and north-east provinces in China, where the bulk of potatoes are grown and where the likes of McCain and Pepsico have opened huge processing operations.

 

Mr Grewar spent two weeks in the country last year as part of a Nuffield-organised visit to see its general farming industry. He was impressed at China’s can-do attitude and its goal of food self-sufficiency that has already seen subsidies switch from business and industry into agriculture.

 

“They are concerned about feeding their country. They are not particularly concerned about the investment needed to do that,” he said.