MOSES LAKE, Washington — Members of the Washington State Potato Commission are gearing up to talk potatoes with government officials and industry representatives in various parts of Southeast Asia.
WSPC executive director Chris Voigt, marketing director Ryan Holterhoff and commissioners Jared Balcom and Ted Tshirky will join state Department of Agriculture director Bud Hover and representatives from the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Potato Commission on a trade mission to the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar in the next week.
The Philippines is the state's fourth-largest export market for ag products, with exports to the country reaching $521 million in 2012, according to a WSDA statement. Washington also exported $80.2 million in food products to Vietnam and $5.6 million to Myanmar that same year.
Myanmar opened its markets to Washington food products in 2011.
"More than 30 percent of everything grown on Washington farms is exported overseas, making the export market critical for our state's $49 billion agriculture industry," said Hover in the statement.
Hover also said expanding existing markets, especially for potatoes, can lead to more opportunities and more jobs overall for the state's agriculture sector.
Washington's potato industry was valued at $700 million in 2012 and supports an estimated 23,000 jobs, according to WSDA. The industry also contributes $4.6 billion annually to the state's economy.
In addition, Voigt said more than 90 percent of the nearly 10 billion pounds of potatoes grown in-state each year will leave the state, and about half of those will be shipped to international markets.
"Washington is home to the highest yielding potato fields in the world and the quality potatoes our growers consistently produce are desired throughout many countries," he said. "We continue to see international exports play a larger role for our industry, and we look forward to building upon that success with our trade mission."
The trade mission kicks off in Manila on Oct. 28. Delegates will hold a seminar for local chefs focusing on new ways of preparing potatoes to help drive interest among local consumers.
Similar seminars will take place when they visit Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
In Myanmar, the mission will focus on exploring the region to get a better sense of how growers can best serve consumers in that country.
Throughout the trip, delegates will also meet with government officials to discuss market access issues such as tariffs.
The trade mission is being funded through a national Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant that is intended to grow the market for specialty crops from Oregon and Washington.
Source: Columbia Basin Herald