Canadá: Drop in French fry sales forces Canadian potato industry to re-evaluate

 Companies that turn potatoes into French  fries, wedges and hash browns are slowing down production, because there isn’t enough space to store all the frozen product.

Potatonewstoday.com reports how in Alberta and Manitoba, potato processors have been short potatoes because of poor harvest conditions last year — with more than 20,000 acres “being abandoned in farmers’ fields,” according to the United Potato Growers of Canada.

That had led to French  fry processors in Western Canada importing potatoes from the U.S., but that’s now ceased, said the general manager of that organization. But while French  fry sales have stagnated, potato chip sales are up. “Chip sales have been great,” he said. “Fresh potato sales were really good at the start. They’ve levelled off now as people have shopped and got what they need.”

Meanwhile, United Potato Growers of Canada is trying to figure out the amount of potatoes in storage so it can forecast how much production will be needed this coming year.