Canada and Prince Edward Island Governments to deliver $40 million to support potato producers

PEI potato growers have a long history of producing high quality potatoes for Canadians and international consumers, and we are doing everything we can to restore market access to the U.S. for this vital industry. Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau, along with Prince Edward Island Minister of Agriculture and Land Bloyce Thompson, announced details on the Surplus Potato Management response plan. As part of this plan, the Government of Canada will provide up to $28 million and the Province of PEI up to $12.2 million. The Surplus Potato Management Response will be cost-shared between the federal and provincial governments, with a goal of diverting as many potatoes as possible to processors, packers and food banks, and minimizing the amount of surplus potatoes that must be destroyed. Producers will also receive support to assist with the costs of environmentally-sound destruction of surplus potatoes. Producers will receive up to 8.5 ...