13 May 2022
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Loss of seed trade and rising fuel costs make PEI growers reconsider
BORDERS have reopened between Canada and the US but the potato acreage on Prince Edward Island could end up being reduced this year.
The border was closed in November when Canada stopped sending potatoes grown on Prince Edward Island following a potato wart fungus finding last year. It reopened in March.
Growers, politicians and organisations had joined the call for the ban to be overturned, claiming only one field had been affected and it was an unnecessary precaution that hit growers' pockets hard.
The border is now open for shipping of fresh potatoes that are thoroughly washed and treated with a sprout inhibitor, but growers are only allowed to ship seed potatoes to Canada and prevented from sending them into the US.
This, combined with increasing fuel costs, is making many growers rethink their crop and preliminary reports reveal that PEI will cut acreage for the upcoming season.