The P.E.I. Potato Board says it is “shocked” the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the movement of all fresh potatoes from P.E.I. to the United States, following the discovery of potato wart on two different Island farms in October.
P.E.I. Agriculture Minister Bloyce Thompson will hold a news conference on the potato wart issue Monday at 2 p.m. Premier Dennis King and representatives from the P.E.I. Potato Board will be part of the news conference.
Seed potato exports were suspended on Nov. 2. In a news release issued early Monday morning, CFIA announced the expanded ban.
Potato wart disfigures potatoes and reduces yield, making potatoes unmarketable, but is not a threat to human health.
The ban does not include potatoes that have already been processed, such as frozen french fries. Fresh potatoes must be brushed and washed to remove soil, which could carry the fungus, before shipping. Seed potatoes may not be shipped outside the province.
CFIA took the action after the U.S. notified Canada it would act if Canada did not take voluntary measures.
‘We must engage with the U.S.’
Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said at a news conference Monday morning that a U.S. federal order banning the imports would go beyond what is needed to reduce the risk of spread, and that it would be much more difficult to reverse.
“To resume trade as quickly as possible, we must engage with the U.S. regarding their concerns,” she said.
This is solely a politically-based trade disruption that will limit trade in a year when potatoes are already in short supply.— P.E.I. Potato Board
“We are taking a responsible approach that is based in science. It would provide the protection that our industry needs through this difficult time.”
The minister said she’s asked the CFIA to “redouble” its efforts to work with the province and industry to contain the spread of potato wart on the Island.
The government of Canada is working on a plan to support farmers affected by the closure of the U.S. market, the news release said.
Potato wart was first discovered on P.E.I. in 2000, and has since been found 33 fields, including farms in all three counties.
The fungus is extremely persistent and can take more than 40 years before it fully leaves the soil.
‘Shocked’
The P.E.I. Potato Board said it is “shocked” by the suspension, and that a plan to prevent the spread within the province developed by the CFIA was already in place.
The board said exports to the U.S. are worth $120 million a year.
It said the fungus was found in fields already being regulated as part of the plan, so were already ineligible to be shipped outside P.E.I.
“Since the discovery of potato wart in P.E.I. in 2000, there has not been a single incidence of potato wart in any markets, including the U.S. and the rest of Canada, attributable to Prince Edward Island potatoes,” the board said in a release.
The board said the restrictions do not represent the wishes of most U.S. buyers and stakeholders.
“This is solely a politically-based trade disruption that will limit trade in a year when potatoes are already in short supply across North America and globally,” it said, adding the suspension could lead to the destruction of millions of kilograms of fresh potatoes.
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