Around 200 producers, exporters and representatives from associations gathered this month in Seville, Spain for the first annual Andalusian Congress of the Potato with a view to increasing production and the region’s market share outside Spain.
The event, which took place on 11 December, was held to mark the International Year of the Potato and was co-organised by the Association of Producers and Exporters of Andalusian Early Potato and the Spanish section of the FAO-UN.
Organisers said the event had been an effective forum for debate and discussion around the implementation of mutually beneficial joint activities within the sector aimed at promoting and raising the profile of potatoes as a basic food for human life.
The congress also highlighted the fact that Andalusia’s early potato sector increased its production by 4.5 per cent in 2008, taking its annual output level to over 364,000 tonnes.
According to Mariano Ruiz Perea, president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Andalusian Early Potato, 73 per cent of potatoes exported from Spain originate in Andalusia, which highlights the importance of the region at a national level.
He said that some 25 per cent of the annual production of Andalusian early potatoes is exported to EU countries such as Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Mr Ruiz told delegates that the first congress of its kind held in Andalusia had been made possible “thanks to the leadership of the early potato sector in Andalusia at a national level and the significant export activity carried out by Andalusian companies”.
“Our objective is to reinforce a fresh food product such as the potato through improving quality and responding to consumer tastes with a view on enlarging the production surface and increasing the export share abroad,” he added.
