A load of 1,500 tons of Hermes premium Scottish seed potatoes from five or six suppliers has reportedly been rejected by Egyptian authorities, because it failed to meet a December export deadline by one day, at a cost traders estimate to be in the region of GBP1.5m.
According to ‘The Courier’, the news emerged as leading Scottish seed potato exporters told an online conference that the risks of international trading now outweigh the rewards.
Alistair Melrose of Perth-based Caledonia Potatoes and J&E Smillie confirmed that his companies were currently facing an “unfortunate situation through no fault of our own”. Melrose added that the seed potatoes destined for export had been delivered to the port in good time to sail but didn’t make the sailing deadline.
