A blaze which destroyed almost £1 million of potatoes is the latest development in a catastrophic Jersey Royals season which has tested growers, suppliers and retailers to their limits and brought some businesses to the brink.
A suspected electrical fire on an evening Condor Ferries service from Jersey to Portsmouth last week gutted three trailers and damaged a number of others on the boat, destroying more than 250 tonnes of potatoes - a little under half of the ferry’s load - with a retail value of more than £780,000.
The Jersey Royal Company - Jersey’s largest shipper - sent out a potato SOS that was picked up by shipping company Huelin-Renouf.
The shippers managed to divert their Guernsey vessels to take on extra loads to the UK mainland.
The potatoes were destined for all of the UK’s major retailers and came during UK number one Tesco’s largest promotion of the season.
The fire comes towards the end of a tough season for the premium potato variety which saw an extensive advertising campaign undermined by a serious drought on the island and rustlers targeting the crops.
A continued lack of rain and a serious shortage of product have left volumes down considerably but exporters are confident it will not affect the sector long term.
Tom Binet, managing director of The Jersey Royal Company, told FPJ: “The retailers understand that things are outside of our control and a lot of the people dealing with the problems this season are experienced in the Jersey game - there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the product.
“We have a few weeks left in the season - I’m braced for the phone call to tell me the swarm of locusts has attacked the crop.”
Binet said the amalgamation of difficult events had left some growers close to the brink of closing.
“We have been working 24/7 to ensure as much stock as possible is available for the UK consumer and it’s a huge testament to the skills both on the island, the ferry companies and over the water at the UK docks that the product has hit the shelves,” he added.
Tim Pratt, Tesco technical manager for roots and potatoes, said: “Our obvious first concern was for the safety of both passengers and crew - there was huge relief once we learnt there were no casualties.
“The devastation caused to the product meant that the entire shipment had to be written off. Due to the promotions taking place, the load destined for Tesco was akin to a normal week’s worth of stock.”
Condor Ferry services are expected to be disrupted for a further two weeks, with the company laying on additional ferries where possible to help keep disruption to exports to a minimum.
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