After two decades of work, chipping potatoes from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington were granted access to China, as part of the Phase 1 US-China agreement reached in January of 2020. Since that moment, Potatoes USA has been promoting the US chipping potatoes in China.
“There has been strong interest by the Chinese processors in testing US potatoes,” according to a recent press release. Even so, the Potatoes USA experts added, importing companies are still challenged by some of the requirements. The goal is that the importation of these trade show samples will provide additional incentive for these companies to try and overcome these challenges.
For the first time, a sample of fresh US chipping potatoes arrived in China and was displayed at Food&Hospitality China Shanghai Global Food Trade Show.
This historic event, which is helping to pave the way for commercial shipments of US chip-stock to China, was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and speeches by US government officials and representatives from Potatoes USA.
“The path traveled by the samples was certainly not an easy one; in fact, at numerous points along the way it looked as if the potatoes would not make it to the show,” the Potatoes USA representatives mentioned. “But in the end, the dedication and effort by the Potatoes USA representatives in China, the US grower/shipper, and many USDA officials both in the US and China finally made it happen.”
