Potato Grower

FIGHTING BACK Potato exports rebounding after tough year This past marketing year was a diffi cult one for U.S. potato exports, especially frozen products. The 11-year streak of increasing exports was broken due to the slowdowns at West Coast ports, the strong dollar and excess supplies of low-cost frozen products Europe. The result was a 12-percent decline in the volume of U.S. exports of frozen products and a 15-percent decline to the U.S. Potato Board's (USPB) target markets. At the same time, the European Union enjoyed a 22-percent increase in total exports of frozen and 51-percent increase in sales to the USPB's target markets. The 2014 potato crop in the Netherlands, Belgium and France was substantially higher than in the previous two years, while demand for potatoes in the EU continues to decline, resulting in a surplus of low-priced raw product. Production of frozen potato products in Belgium has increased 1,000 percent in the past 25 years as many growers switched from cereals to potatoes and processing plants were built with government subsidies. Meanwhile, the euro is now 21 percent weaker compared to the U.S. dollar than it was two years ago. These two factors meant Belgian fries were priced 37 percent lower than U.S. product during the past year. As I have previously documented, the 50-percent slowdown in operations at West Coast ports from October 2014 through March 2015 resulted in a 20-percent decline in U.S. exports to markets in Asia, with some markets being impacted much more: Both Taiwan and Malaysia were down 29 percent, while Vietnam was off 24 U.S. Potato Board By John Toaspern Chief Marketing Offi cer percent and Thailand was the hardest hit, down 34 percent. Based on these factors, USPB grower leaders allocated an additional $300,000 in funds from reserves to be used in the international marketing program to combat these barriers and regain lost sales. The grower dollars have also been leveraged with $400,000 in Market Access Program (MAP) funding from the USDA. These funds have been utilized by the USPB's international representatives to carry out a wide array of activities in those markets. In the Philippines, in conjunction with MAP funds, the USPB bought EU fries from importers and donated them to orphanages if the importers would replace the product with purchases of U.S. fries. We also gave restaurants a free case of U.S. fries for every five cases of U.S. fries they purchased. In China, the USPB launched a social media campaign in conjunction with restaurants that switched back to U.S. fries. In Malaysia, the USPB's rep went door to door meeting with restaurants to explain why they should buy U.S., based on the return on investment messages developed from previous research. For the many restaurants that did switch back, the USPB conducted promotional activities 66 POTATO GROWER | FEBRUARY 2016

• Cover