US company Farm Fresh Produce is aiming to boost its supply of sweet potatoes to the UK.

Last year the US exported some 32,005 tonnes of sweet potatoes to the UK, a 19 per cent increase on the previous year, according to US department of agriculture figures.

Farm Fresh is already the largest US exporter of sweet potatoes and believes it has the potential to increase this in future.

“All our sweet potatoes need to meet stringent specifications for quality before shipping,” said owner Steven Ceccarelli. “Exports are a major portion of our business so it’s important that we meet the expectations of the market.”

The company supplies major retailers across Europe, with the UK and France its biggest customers. As well as sweet potatoes, Farm Fresh Produce exports spring onions, butternut squash, citrus, cherries and blueberries. The company recently announced that it has retained the services of UK produce industry veteran Andy Patterson to oversee quality control for all imported product.

Ceccarelli grew up in the produce business working for his father in Montreal, before moving to a major grower/exporter of sweet potatoes in Mississippi. He went on to work for another sweet potato shipper in North Carolina before going into business for himself last September.

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