US permits export of “world-class PEI potatoes” across national borders-nationwide

Peasant Prince Edward Island Got all clear friday from We Ministry of Agriculture has some of the most famous table potatoes in the world Canada-US border.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final federal order on the import of PEI potatoes, paving the way for island producers to resume exports after being at a loss for four months.

“We are pleased that our world-class PEI potatoes will be exported to the United States again and will come into effect soon,” tweeted former Federal Minister of Agriculture Liberal Lawrence MacAulay.

Canada stopped shipping potatoes to the United States in November. The decision aims to anticipate a total ban after potato warts, a harmless disease that damages potatoes and reduces yields, were detected in several fields on the island last fall.

Seed potatoes, which make up about 10% of the island’s annual production, are still banned from the United States until the results of a more thorough USDA review, which can take years to complete.

To qualify for export, a federal order states that the table potatoes and the seed potatoes used to grow them are from fields where potato warts are not known to be endemic. Requesting. You also need to wash the soil while in PEI, treat it with a sprout inhibitor, and rate it to US First Standard.

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This order should also be able to track shipments “from the production floor to packaging and export” so that they can be tracked and collected as needed. You also need to “officially inspect the freedom of pests” after cleaning.

Canada and the United States last week released an “understanding” of potatoes after concerns about soil-borne fungi first blocked one of the state’s most famous exports from a single most important market.

Producers say the hiatus forced them to destroy or otherwise dispose of their valuable crops, and believe the industry is making more than $ 50 million in lost income.

In an interview last week after the first agreement between Canada and the United States was announced, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibaud said early on calling for separate evaluation of tablestock and seed potatoes.

She also defended the decision to aggressively suspend exports, stating that without these two moves, all PEI potatoes could face a ban that would last for months or years.

The Washington, DC-based National Potato Council opposed resuming exports because of the seeming risk of fungi spreading to US fields. There is no risk that Canadian producers have claimed for months.

The council also said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has set higher soil testing standards to export products to Canada than Canadian producers whose U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to sell potatoes in the state. I blamed you.