Chipping Potatoes to China Pt 1
I’m Bob Larson. A huge deal for Northwest potato growers after China takes actions to begin implementing ag-related commitments of the Phase-One trade agreement, specifically allowing the import of U.S. fresh chipping potatoes from Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Matt Lantz, Vice President for Global Access at Bryant Christie, says it’s been a long time coming …
LANTZ … “Well, this is fantastic news for several reasons. First of all, we’ve been working on this for 20-years, so it’s a generation old. And so, as of today, the market is open. It’s also great news because it’s the first time China has ever allowed imported fresh potatoes from anywhere, so this is really an historic opportunity for us.”
Asked if any potential numbers were being talked about, Lantz says …
LANTZ … “You know, we’ve got to walk before we run,
and there are a lot of requirements. They’re concerned about certain pests and diseases, so the most important thing to start is to establish the market and make sure that we ship successfully without having any problems with pests or diseases.”
But, Lantz says, once we’re up and running …
LANTZ … “You can maybe look at the opportunities we had back when we opened Japan for chipping potatoes in 2006, and now that’s a $20-million market. You know, and Japan is with limited window for exports, and you would not have that with China. So, we’re hoping a lot more people in China, a lot more factories in China, and no shipping windows so, who knows, we’ll see where it goes from here.”
Listen tomorrow for more on the Phase-One details that include Northwest Fresh Potatoes to China.
