Industry leaders have said they will push to reinstate Scotland’s valuable seed potato trade with Europe at the opening of Solana Seeds’ new Scottish base on Wednesday (August 11). NFU Scotland vice president Andrew Connon made the commitment as he officially opened the site at Wester Meathie, near Forfar.
As Rachel Martin reports for AgriLand, the event took place on the eve of Potatoes in Practice, the UK’s biggest one-day potato event being held at the James Hutton Institute’s Balruddery Farm, near Dundee today (August 12).
Speaking at the opening, Connon branded the trade barriers as “purely political and totally unacceptable”.
“Scottish seed potato producers have done a tremendous job over many decades in establishing Scottish grown seed potatoes as a leading global brand. We have an industry to be proud of, whilst the degree of specialization and technical expertise within the sector is second to none,” he said.