South Africa: There is no potato shortage but load shedding is making food production harder

…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 chip markets. Story continues below Advertisement 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. Koekemoer 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, Koekemore said the major challenge facing potato producers was load shedding and it's disruption of food production, as well as cheap imports. More on this R654 million worth of SA ...