To say that the UK potato industry has had its ups and downs this year would be a massive understatement but, with the majority of players having pulled through the season and now managing their stores, there should be plenty to talk about at British Potato 2007.
The two-day show kicks off in Harrogate on November 28 and will offer a comprehensive seed to supermarket approach, with more than 150 leading companies from the UK and Europe set to exhibit, and some 6,000 visitors expected to attend.
The theme of the BP2007 conference - A Challenging Future - will track prospects for the UK industry, looking first at consumer behaviour and then at the challenges and opportunities linked to climate change.
The changing weather patterns are a key factor for UK growers as they plan for the future, according to BPC knowledge transfer manager Rob Clayton, and he says this will be a hot topic at the event. “The main opportunities bound up with climate change are that what we are seeing in terms of extremes of weather in the UK will be far worse for our competitors,” he says. “We might think we had it bad here this summer, but Spanish growers had to deal with temperatures of up to 55ºC. This could make us more self-sufficient as a country and, in the future, allow us to extend production into the North West and plan for much longer seasons.
“Growers have already started to programme production, so that product is available in three phases - in the early spring, the summer and late autumn - and this concept can be extended to other varieties. Producers are getting closer and closer to Christmas with high-value product, and there is room for rolling that out. The future is with businesses that are prepared to take on a programming approach.”
But these plus-points do not come without obstacles, he admits. “Water will be an issue, with flooding at one end and drought at the other,” Clayton says. “The industry will need to keep breeding and developing new varieties that can cope with the changing conditions, as well as pests and diseases that are new to us.”
But attitudes on the other side of the farm gate are becoming more important than ever, says BPC marketing director Kathryn Race, with public perception still needing a lot of work and carbohydrate rivals rice and pasta standing firm as major competitors to the category.
BPC consumer research has allowed the industry to find the best way forward in terms of marketing and promotion. UK consumers can be categorised by the life-stage they have reached, Race explains, and they can be divided into pre-family, young family, empty nesters, and retirement social groups, for the purpose of the research. The findings highlight the challenges still faced by the sector.
“The older generation include potatoes in eight of 10 meals, and the industry needs to defend this,” says Race. “But the scary thing for this sector is that only two out of 10 meals eaten by the younger age groups feature potatoes, and research has shown that, as they get older, people do not change their eating habits. This is one of the biggest threats to the future of the industry.
“The sector needs a two-pronged attack,” she adds. “We are trying to increase awareness and consumption among the younger generations and we need the industry to see that, if we can succeed in pushing the number of potato meals to three out of 10, it will make a positive impact.
“Research has shown the main opportunity for potatoes to steal back from rice and pasta is by positioning them with chicken and fish, and we have to build on this.”
The responsibility to increase awareness and boost demand must be shared across the industry, Race says, with BPC research creating generic information that can be used by retailers and suppliers and made specific to them. “The retailers do quite a lot of work promoting product in store, as do packers and suppliers, and even the growers get involved,” she says. “Processors like McCain and Walkers are good at appealing to all life-stages, but it is not the same in the fresh market.”
BP2007 will also feature a series of workshops and seminars to share the latest research-related news and developments in areas of potato-growing that are subject to the most change or external pressures, with 25-minute talks on catchment-sensitive farming, new seed rate recommendations, action for stored crop quality, UK blight populations and controlling energy costs held four times each over the two-day event.
“Everything that we have produced over the last two years - reports, books, and leaflets - will be there, as will new literature on all the topics up for discussion,” says Clayton. “This will be featured on what we are calling the Wall of Knowledge - a literature bank - on the BPC stand.”
The British Potato Industry Award, which recognises an individual for his or her outstanding contribution to the British potato industry, will be presented at the industry dinner.
The event will also be a rare opportunity for UK growers to see key BPC staff representing their interests, from market information to storage, seed and export, to research and agronomy.
“The spirit of BP2007 is a breadth and depth of knowledge, from service providers and suppliers, looking at opportunities alongside challenges facing the industry,” says Clayton. “It is about a community spirit rather than individual businesses. The guy who locks his gate and turns off his mobile is not going to have a future in the industry. Those who are receptive to new ideas and information will do best, and that sums up the whole event.”
“Working together has been very important throughout this difficult season,” adds BPC market information manager Rob Burrow. “The grower has had to work with the purchaser so that they understand the situation.”
The gathering will be a chance for players from across the UK potato chain to reflect on two difficult seasons, swap experiences and share how they pulled through.
This year has seen substantial losses following the wettest summer on record and the worst floods for 60 years, and the subsequent rise of blight, greening and growth cracks.
Torrential rain and floods in July struck some major production areas in the UK, including the Midlands, Herefordshire and Nottinghamshire, through to central and northern Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Yorkshire. Producers in these areas lost a considerable proportion of their crop, with some reporting losses of 50-100 per cent, and waste levels in these areas have rocketed.
UK growers have seen one of the worst seasons for pests and disease that anyone can remember, and ongoing problems have plagued the sector.
Provisional estimates for the total production of British potatoes in the 2007 season point to a one per cent decrease on last year, at 5.446 million tonnes.
The BPC has been on hand through the season, ready to share information and advice with UK growers, most of which have come through the worst of it. “There was concern about blight in stores a couple of weeks ago, but it has become less of a worry where best practice has been taken up, and the situation is looking up,” says Clayton. “The best practice messages do not change but, in a season like this, it is more important than ever that growers are responsive.”
“Wastage is still likely to be an issue this year,” adds Burrow. “But there will be a premium for the best-quality product and, overall, supply should be adequate to meet demand.”
But the difficult season has not stopped the BPC reaching out to the public to raise awareness and fuel demand. The number of campaigns taken on by the organisation to raise awareness about the category, educate, and promote potatoes as part of a healthy diet - aimed at both adults and children - forms a long list, but every new activity brings the organisation closer to its goal.
Two key messages from the BPC awareness campaign - that potatoes are healthy and low in fat - have made an impact on UK consumers this summer following a flurry of activity. A recent survey asked consumers to choose the healthiest option between pasta, rice or potatoes, and the results identified a five per cent shift in opinion, putting potatoes above pasta.
UK consumer awareness that potatoes are low in fat rose from 14 per cent to 24 per cent.
“This is excellent news and shows that our summer campaign urging consumers - and mums in particular - to ‘challenge potatoes to give them more’ has been a resounding success,” says Race. “Overall, 84 per cent think potatoes are healthy, a two per cent increase since May, while 81 per cent continue to agree that fresh potatoes are important to a healthy diet.
“We are keen to keep the momentum going, but recognise that there is room for further improvement, especially amongst families.
“The two aspects that will change the perception of potatoes are health and innovation,” she adds. “These are key drivers and every year we do research and they always come out on top. But we cannot change consumer perceptions overnight.”
A number of activities are planned for the autumn and winter campaigns to build on the progress made over the summer, with National Chip Week - always a favourite with the public - getting underway on February 11.
The next round of campaigns aimed at schoolchildren is also moving through the gears, with the fourth annual Grow Your Own Potatoes scheme - intended to teach kids where potatoes come from by getting them to produce their own crops - now recruiting schools and growers to take part.
The Adopt a School initiative, which is an extension of the Grow Your Own Potatoes project, has been introduced to coincide with the Year of Food and Farming. The project aims to get every potato grower in the UK to adopt a school near them so that farmers have regular contact with schools in their area. A farm pack aimed at growers who host visits from local schools will be launched at BP2007.
“We will be monitoring which schools have been adopted, and we aim to produce more information to help farmers involved with schools throughout the year,” Race says.
Far-reaching campaigns planned for next year on a national and international level will support the category, and provide a strong platform on which the BPC can continue to build.
The International Year of the Potato kicks off in January and, while the UN-backed project will primarily promote the category as one of the answers to hunger in developing countries, the initiative will also put the spud firmly in the spotlight. The BPC will act as the press office for the project in the UK.
“The main initiative in the UK will be to focus on education and children,” says Race. “We want to get a quarter of a million children involved in the Grow Your Own Potatoes initiative next year and, as part of that, we will work with the industry and appear in the schools’ area at regional shows.
“Our workshops for children will have more of an international feel, taking in geography and culture, as well as teaching them about where potatoes come from.”
There is a technical side to the 12-month initiative that should not be overlooked, Clayton adds. “Research projects will look at drought tolerance and yield and, in particular, the Scottish Crop Research Institute will be looking at breeding varieties for developing nations,” he says.
The publicity surrounding the project is set to boost the category, both from a technical and marketing perspective, next year.
Prospects for the UK potato industry look promising. The same fighting spirit that the sector has drawn on to battle through the last two seasons will see the category will continue to grow, believes the BPC.
For information on BP2007 visit www.potato.org.uk/bp2007
VIEWS FROM POTATO PARISH
Branston account director Jo Parish on the challenges and opportunities for the UK industry.
What are the major issues that have hit the sector this season?
Last season had its supply problems and everyone in the industry was glad to see the back of them. We had a promising start to this season, with the crop going into the ground extremely well. However, nobody expected to have so much rain, which turned the industry on its head. We went from a potential oversupply to, perhaps, the most difficult season ever. We’re going to have to deal with the resulting crop quality issues for the rest of the season.
How strong has consumer demand been this year?
There has been some welcomed inflation in the category over the last 18 months, and potatoes continue to compete extremely well against other carbohydrates. The industry needs to continue marketing the product, and we are fully supportive of the British Potato Council’s efforts. It is doing a great job at keeping potatoes at the forefront of consumer minds and educating people about the nutritional benefits and versatility of the potato. We also need to pull in new customers and attract younger people, as the category has traditionally relied on older consumers.
Have retail promotions pushed product this season?
Carefully chosen promotions will always be worthwhile, but we need to take care not to give away scarce product.
How do you see the sector dealing with the situation until the new season comes on stream? How are growers, suppliers and retailers working together?
We are not doing anything drastically different. A successful season relies on great communication between growers, Branston and its customers. All parties need to appreciate the issues affecting the others. A season like this just makes dialogue even more important.
What opportunities and threats will climate change pose for the potato industry?
Consumers are increasingly interested in green issues, and the importance of environmental best practice cannot be ignored by businesses. We have our own environmental management system and are striving to demonstrate real year-on-year improvement in our environmental performance by reducing waste, using new technologies and embracing best practice in every way we can. Our new £2.1 million, 9,000-tonne capacity coldstore is a prime example. It uses less than 25 per cent of the power associated with normal long-term cooling systems and has been hailed as one of the most efficient fridges in the country. We are also working on several other large initiatives which we are very excited about.
What is being done to prepare for next year as the International Year of the Potato?
Next year represents a massive opportunity to promote potatoes and we are going to make the most of it. The BPC will be acting as a press office on behalf of the industry, as well as co-ordinating its own activities throughout the year. We will also be getting involved and are busy finalising a large-scale initiative which will be launched in the New Year.
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