Japan won't accept fresh Idaho potatoes, so U.S. lawmakers are pushing for change

Published Jun 7, 2023

Tridge summary

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers from Idaho and other states have appealed to the USDA to persuade Japanese officials to lift a ban on fresh potato imports. This ban has been in place despite ongoing negotiations and has prevented U.S. potato growers from tapping into the Japanese market, which could potentially boost exports by $150 million annually. The lawmakers argue that there is no justification for the ban, given the lack of pest or disease issues with U.S. potatoes. The USDA is now working with Japan to complete a pest risk assessment and develop measures to ensure that only pest-free fresh potatoes can be exported to Japan.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

If there's one thing that can get bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, it's potatoes. On May 11, Idaho's entire congressional delegation — Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo and Congressmen Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher — sent a letter along with 31 other U.S. House and Senate members to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging them to push Japanese officials to buy fresh potatoes. Japan is a top export market for frozen U.S. potatoes, but a ban prevents U.S. potato growers from selling fresh potatoes to Japan despite decades of negotiations. In 2022, potato exports from the U.S. reached a record $2.1 billion in sales. That number would include an additional $150 million if Japan were to open its market to fresh U.S. potatoes, according to the National Potato Council. The U.S. already exports fresh potatoes to the Indo-Pacific including South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. According to the Idaho Potato Commission, about one ...

Source: Argenpapa