Growers in the Irish Republic have enjoyed such a bumper potato crop this season that supplies are now being exported to mainland Europe for the first time in years.
Potatoes have already been shipped to the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as to other countries in Europe, where this year’s harvest has been disappointing because of the weather. Some 16,000 tonnes left this week for Russia and other shipments may follow, according to the department of agriculture.
Department inspector Barry Delany said that while Ireland had a long tradition of exporting seed potatoes, this was the first time in decades that ware supplies were being sold abroad.
Despite the fact that the area planted, a total of 11,454 hectares, was three per cent down on the previous year, Irish growers recorded remarkable yields. Bord Bia figures show that the Rooster crop produced 43.2 tonnes per hectare, a 28 per cent increase on yields for 2009, and eight per cent above the average for the last seven years.
With Kerr’s Pink, the yield was 37.5 tonnes per hectare, 20 per cent better than in 2009, and a three per cent increase on the seven-year average. The department spokesman put the successful crop down to “favourable planting conditions, a very good growing season and reasonable harvesting conditions”. There has also been significantly less blight this year, he said.
