Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
U.S. woes slash sales of Manitoba potatoes
CNS CALGARY HERALD Enlarge Image
Strapped U.S. diners are eating at home, cutting sales of french fries.
Fewer Americans are eating out at restaurants and that's taking a big bite out of potato seeding in Manitoba, an industry official said Friday.
Statistics Canada issued new figures Friday showing potato acreage is down an estimated 11 per cent this year in Manitoba, and Keystone Potato Producers Association manager Garry Sloik said that's because local processors have contracted for fewer spuds this year from growers.
And they've ordered fewer potatoes because they're selling fewer french fries to the United States, where recession-battered Americans aren't dining out as much, Sloik said.
A secondary factor that has reduced exports to the United States is an oversupply of potatoes in the U.S. market, he added.
Sloik said it's too soon to tell what's likely to happen next year. That will largely depend on what happens with the U.S. economic recovery.
But it's encouraging to note that local processors have recently started boosting their orders a little, he said.
StatsCan said an estimated 70,000 acres (28,329 hectares) of potatoes were seeded this year in Manitoba, compared with 79,000 acres (31,971 hectares) in 2009.
Despite the decline, Manitoba is still the second-largest potato-growing province after Prince Edward Island, where an estimated 84,500 acres (34,197 hectares) of potatoes were planted this year.
Manitoba's peak year for potato growing was 2003, when 103,000 acres (41,684 hectares) were seeded.
murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 17, 2010 B5
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