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Japan lifts ban on Idaho chipping potatoes

Japan is resuming imports of chipping potatoes from Idaho, expanding market access for U.S. producers.

Following detection of pale cyst nematode (PCN) in the southeastern part of the state in 2006, Japan halted imports of the potato commonly grown for use as chips or French fries.

USDA Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has worked closely with the U.S. potato industry and Idaho State Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the effectiveness of the PCN eradication program.

As a result, Japan has reopened the market to all but two Idaho counties, which remain under quarantine for PCN.

The U.S. currently sources 98 percent of all Japanese potato imports, valued at $19 million dollars annually.

Japan also clarified that all U.S. seed-producing states free of PCN and golden nematode are eligible to supply seed potatoes to produce chipping potatoes for export to Japan.