Russian Potato
We never know where we stand with the Russians. One minute in history we’re shaking hands, another, their big cheese is pounding his shoe and predicting our demise… an ex-President’s drinking vodka with their Premiere. Now, the Kremlin wants to import potatoes big-time. We know they love potatoes but they grow their own don’t they. Frank Muir, President and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission. “Part of it is trying to meet demand because there is a growing retail business and there is growing food service opportunities as more U.S. restaurants enter into the market, that provides more opportunities for French fries and other frozen products. They’re just having a difficult time keeping up with demand. They may have some storage issues as well to maintain their crop for the full year so it provides a great window of opportunity for us. People could wonder, why are we targeting Russia when they have so many potatoes. There’s an impression wherever you go in the world that Idaho represents quality. Recently we had the Special Olympics here in Boise, and one of the first families I interacted with was with a Russian family that had several coaches with them and as soon as I said I was connected with potatoes, he said Ahhh…best potatoes in the world.”
