Potato summit improves understanding of challenges faced by all in the potato supply chain

It’s good to talk…and listen.

Oversupply in 2011 followed by a short season in 2012, on a scale unheard of in over 35 years have created numerous trade tensions along the supply chain. The combination of two difficult seasons brought some long-standing industry issues home to roost. By Christmas the Potato Council Board decided that a safe environment in which to air a whole host of challenges and start to agree how to work together better to put sustainable GB potato production back on the map was needed.

Potato Council brought together representatives from retail, farming unions, trade bodies, government, packers, processors, food service and growers on 7th March in Westminster to help future-proof the potato supply chain.

The key and stark observation made was that the potato industry simply doesn’t talk or listen enough. So although we all work with the same product, knowledge of what everybody does and what pressures they face is poor along the supply chain. For instance, growers didn’t realise how precious the floor space afforded to potatoes in supermarkets really was. The continuous energy required to entice in recession-weary consumers with healthy, quick and imaginative meal solutions was also a surprise to many. Meanwhile some of the food service and retail business weren’t aware of the crisis looming on farms where cash is desperately required to bring issues like storage and water management up to scratch.

For many growers, current contract terms and conditions simply didn’t provide the peace of mind to trigger re-investment. Critically, many of the next generation of growers will look at the family business, consider the return-prospects as poor and opt for lower risk crops like cereals and maize. Supply chains had their own story to tell too. Feeling squeezed at both ends an expectation to buffer volatility in difficult supply situations was putting businesses in jeopardy. Listening, talking and understanding were going to be vital.

Potato Council itself is as committed as anyone else when it comes to working with the whole chain, talking and listening! Director of the Potato Council, Rob Clayton said, ‘Many in industry would benefit from of our existing range of products and activities that provide solutions to many of the challenges featured at the summit. For example, the positive outcomes derived from a £1.6m pa spend on marketing demonstrate where we are delivering genuine value. Likewise, a new national soil research platform developed in conjunction with HDC and HGCA will help industry manage water resources better in future. Further, our expert services delivered through Sutton Bridge will help levy payers chose their optimum storage investment while working through the financial planning tools provided via our Business Improvement Programme are a “must do” before entering into contract negotiations.’

He continued, ‘Naturally, we’ve identified gaps in what we provide to industry and finding them was one of the motives behind running a summit. Currently, for example, there is no-one in the industry who can assign a real cash value to the multitude of risks taken by growers. It’s clearly an area we need to explore.’

The Potato Industry is on the brink of an opportunity as GB’s population increases, but without collective and concerted industry action, the future will feature growers shifting to lower risk crops like cereals and maize, greater reliance on imported potatoes and a steady and painful erosion of all the support we need from crop protection, machinery manufacture and GB’s science base.

Rob Clayton concluded, ‘Let’s listen and talk!’