The P.E.I. Potato Board says it’s “shocked” the Canadian Meals Inspection Agency has suspended the movement of all contemporary potatoes from P.E.I. to the United States, following the invention of potato wart on different Island farms in October.
P.E.I. Agriculture Minister Bloyce Thompson will dangle a information convention on the potato wart factor Monday at 2 p.m. Top Of The Line Dennis King and representatives from the P.E.I. Potato Board will be part of the scoop convention.
Seed potato exports had been suspended on Nov. 2. In a information unencumber issued early Monday morning, CFIA announced the elevated ban.
Potato wart disfigures potatoes and reduces yield, making potatoes unmarketable, but isn’t a threat to human well being.
The ban doesn’t include potatoes that have already been processed, reminiscent of frozen french fries. Contemporary potatoes have to be brushed and washed to remove soil, which could raise the fungus, ahead of transport. Seed potatoes may not be shipped outside the province.
CFIA took the action after the U.S. notified Canada it might act if Canada did not take voluntary measures.
‘We will have to have interaction with the U.S.’
Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said at a information convention Monday morning that a U.S. federal order banning the imports would transcend what’s needed to reduce the danger of unfold, and that it would be much more tricky to reverse.
The ban on potato exports from P.E.I. to the U.S. could imply producers can have to break hundreds of thousands of kilograms of potatoes. (CBC)
“to renew industry as temporarily as imaginable, we should engage with the U.S. regarding their issues,” she mentioned.
this is solely a politically-based trade disruption in order to restrict trade in a yr whilst potatoes are already in brief provide.— P.E.I. Potato Board
“We Are taking a responsible method that is primarily based in technological know-how. it would provide the protection that our industry wishes through this difficult time.”
The minister stated she’s asked the CFIA to “redouble” its efforts to work with the province and trade to contain the spread of potato wart at the Island.
the federal government of Canada is working on a plan to enhance farmers affected by the closure of the U.S. marketplace, the news liberate mentioned.
Potato wart used to be first found out on P.E.I. in 2000, and has due to the fact been discovered 33 fields, including farms in all three counties.
The fungus is extremely persistent and can take greater than FORTY years prior to it fully leaves the soil.
‘Shocked’
The P.E.I. Potato Board mentioned it’s “stunned” by means of the suspension, and that a plan to stop the unfold throughout the province developed by the CFIA was once already in place.
The board stated exports to the U.S. are value $120 million a 12 months.
It stated the fungus was found in fields already being regulated as part of the plan, so had been already ineligible to be shipped outdoor P.E.I.
“For The Reason That the discovery of potato wart in P.E.I. in 2000, there has now not been a single incidence of potato wart in any markets, including the U.S. and the rest of Canada, on account of Prince Edward Island potatoes,” the board stated in a free up.
The board said the restrictions do not represent the wishes of most U.S. consumers and stakeholders.
“this is only a politically-primarily based trade disruption that allows you to restrict trade in a year when potatoes are already in brief supply throughout North The United States and globally,” it stated, adding the suspension may lead to the destruction of millions of kilograms of clean potatoes.