While changes in health habits like low-carb diets in the U.S. have had an effect on demand for potatoes around the world, such negative views of the vegetable are beginning to change, according to Blair Richardson, CEO of Potatoes USA.
“The research we’ve been conducting the last couple of years shows that consumer perception of the potato is actually improving quite a bit,” says Richardson. “We’re not just saying it’s okay to eat potatoes; we’re using the research that the Alliance for Potato Research & Education and that we ourselves have put together… to say you should eat potatoes. Not only that, you should eat more potatoes.”
Another factor in demand has been the fierce competition in the french fry industry, where many countries are battling it out for market share dominance, Bruce Huffaker, publisher of North American Potato Market News, says.
“The global demand for french fries is growing very rapidly, and the Europeans are grabbing the lion’s share of the extra business,” Huffaker says.
Huffaker says that as a result of aggressive pricing, currency issues and some transportation advantages, producers in northwestern Europe—and particularly in Belgium—have captured about 80 percent of the growth in the global french fry market over the past 10 years.
Source: Fresh Plaza