The National Potato Council (NPC) continues to make dedicated efforts to open Japan for U.S. fresh potatoes. Representatives from USDA-APHIS and representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries will meet Sept. 17-19 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to address Japan’s phytosanitary concerns via a plant health technical bilateral meeting.
NPC has been working on this for over two decades, and gaining full market access would benefit Japanese consumers and American workers along the supply chain, said Kam Quarles, National Potato Council CEO. The industry supports about 34,000 jobs.
“However, Japan continues to stall and delay negotiations,” Quarles said in a recent news release.
NPC called upon USDA to ensure that Japan fulfill its commitment.
In an April letter addressed to President Biden, 10 senators requested that Biden address this issue with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, stating that “there is no phytosanitary justification for these delays,” particularly since the U.S. already exports to several other countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Though access became a top priority in late 2019 during plant health negotiations, there has been no forward progress.
Roughly 20% of U.S. potatoes are exported, resulting in nearly $4.8 billion of the more than $100 million industry.
Japan is currently the second largest buyer of U.S. potatoes and has received chipping stock since 2006. The approval of fresh potatoes could mean a $150 million to $200 million increase for potato exports.
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