John Morgan, who identified the potatoes were infected by ring rot on his farm in Bwlch, has lost £400,000 and is angry that it has taken government officials six months to find out the potatoes’ history. A report from the Department for Environmental Food and Rural Affairs details the ring rot outbreak, and states that Morgan’s potato consignment was originally shipped to Honduras in September 2003 where port officials rejected it because there was soil in the container. The load was then taken back to Rotterdam and approximately two tonnes of this consignment was then transported to Morgan’s Welsh farm. “I am disgusted that civil servants have been sitting on this information for months,” said Morgan. “If I had known I was getting rejects I would have never accepted the load.”
Morgan is seeking compensation from the Dutch seed suppliers Agrico. But Agrico export manager Jacob Mijnheer said the soil in the container is what was rejected by the Hondurans and not the potatoes. Mijnheer said: ”There is no connection between Honduras and the ring rot in Wales. The potatoes were in peak condition and it is not unusual for them to be kept in refrigerated storage for ten months.”
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