18 January 2023
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Main problem is load shedding, says industry association.
SOUTH Africa consumers have been reassured that the country's potato industry will be able to meet local demand for French fries after heavy “anti-dumping” duties were imposed by the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) in July last year on Belgium, German and Dutch suppliers.
When the duties were announced there was concern that South Africans could face a severe shortage of French fries as it curbed imports from its usual European frozen chips markets.
But Potatoes SA acting Marketing Manager, Jaco Koekemoer, said the country has a sufficient supply of fresh potatoes, with forecasts looking promising over the next 12 months.
Jaco said: “There is ample produce to meet frozen chip manufacturing demand, and satisfy customer and retail appetites. What’s more, there are 16 potato production regions across South Africa, and a continuous supply of potatoes is delivered to fresh produce markets on a daily basis.”
However, Jaco said the major challenge facing potato producers was load shedding and its disruption of food production, as well as cheap imports.
Source: Cape Argus
