Mixed reactions from P.E.I. potato growers as U.S. border reopens to exports

The P.E.I. Potato Board says potato growers on Prince Edward Island can count on excessive demand for Island spuds now that the U.S. border has been reopened to some inventory.

It was introduced late Friday afternoon shipments of Island potatoes will resume instantly.

Island growers had a gathering with the Canadian Meals Inspection Company on Saturday to ask questions concerning the course of, says Greg Donald, common supervisor of the board.

“We’re more than happy to have the ability to ship P.E.I. potatoes to our prospects and there was sturdy demand,” mentioned Donald.

With the U.S. threatening to take motion, the CFIA halted cross-border shipments of seed and table-stock potatoes in November on account of issues about potato wart. Canadian officers had been involved that an American motion could be harder to reverse.

Donald mentioned and he is hoping table-stock potatoes will probably be headed off Island for the U.S. early subsequent week.

“It is after all with blended emotions as a result of we’ve got had 100 per cent confidence within the security of our potatoes since Day 1. We felt this by no means ought to have occurred however actually … had been more than happy to have the ability to resume shipments.”

Boyd Rose, who runs East Level Potato, feels the identical approach, particularly when he appears to be like on the guidelines for delivery highlighted by the CFIA.

“We’re excited to get going once more,” he mentioned. “On the similar time we’ve got blended reactions to being shut down for over 4 months, and once we see the necessities to ship subsequent Monday they give the impression of being very similar to what we had been doing in October and November.”

The CFIA mentioned final week the U.S. would require P.E.I. potatoes, in addition to the seed potatoes used to supply them, to “originate from fields not identified to be infested with potato wart or related to identified infestations.”

Different situations state that P.E.I. potatoes should be:

• Washed and sprout-nipped.
• Graded to satisfy the U.S. No. 1 normal.
• Formally inspected by the nationwide plant safety group of Canada and authorized as assembly USDA necessities.

“[We’re] joyful all people put the work in to get the job in to get the work performed, however you possibly can’t make up for the misplaced time,” Rose mentioned.

Growers in P.E.I. have already needed to destroy hundreds of thousands of kilos of potatoes because the border was closed to U.S. exports in November — however demand is excessive. Rose has been getting calls from the U.S. because the announcement was made Friday afternoon, he mentioned.

Canada’s Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau has mentioned shipments of seed potatoes are unlikely to renew till 2023.

Donald wish to see that moved up.

“Seed potatoes are nonetheless unable to be exported off of P.E.I. So, we’ll be wanting to focus consideration on the science and the resumption of exports of our seed potatoes as quickly as doable as effectively,” he mentioned.

Alex Docherty who runs Sky View Farms, is glad for these promoting desk inventory, however he sells seed potatoes and the resumption of promoting desk inventory to the U.S. does nothing for his enterprise, he mentioned.

“We’re nonetheless banned from promoting seed in our personal nation together with america. So we’re sitting on bins of seed that can ultimately be fed to cows,” he mentioned.

“We’re out of the sport for this yr utterly and in accordance with the minister we’re out for one more yr most likely.”

Even when the ban on seed potatoes was lifted instantly — lots of his prospects went elsewhere for seed for this yr and the farm has already misplaced out on a whole season, Docherty mentioned.