Supermarkets reject countys organic spuds (From Western Telegraph)

Supermarkets reject countys organic spuds

Tonnes of premium organic potatoes grown in Pembrokeshire are being fed to livestock because supermarkets dont want them.

Production is out-stripping demand and the British Potato Council says there is doubt that this sectors growth can be sustained.

Pembrokeshire grower Romeo Sarra increased production to 40 acres because supermarket packers indicated a strong demand this season. That anticipated demand failed to materialise and 30 acres remain unsold.

Organic potatoes command a premium but Mr Sarra cant find anyone to pay conventional prices for them.

He finished harvesting the crop last week but these potatoes are likely to become stock feed.

I should be getting £200 a tonne but the organic price is irrelevant because I cant even sell them, he says.

Research suggests that his situation is shared by the majority of Pembrokeshires organic growers.

Supermarkets have sourced supplies from overseas and only want the very best of the home crop. Market share has shifted in recent years from box schemes and farmers markets to supermarket dominance. They are only interested in the best specification. I think my potatoes look tremendous but they are still not considered good enough, insists Mr Sarra, who farms at Portfield Gate, Haverfordwest, and runs the Fruits of the Earth organic farm shop at Prendergast, Haverfordwest.

In the last 15 years, there has been a rapid growth in organic farming. Soil Association figures estimate that from less than 0.1% of the total EU agricultural area in 1985, organic production has increased to over 2%. It predicts that by 2010, 10% of the European agriculture area would be dedicated to organic farming.

But farmers like the Sarras are seeing the problems created by this shift in production methods.

People who are thinking about growing organic potatoes need to be aware that they have to grow the best to satisfy the supermarkets, warns Mr Sarra.

The British Potato Council suggests that rising retail prices are linked to reductions in consumer demand for organic potatoes.

Caption: Romeo Sarra has no buyer for acres of organic potatoes grown on rented land at Capeston Farm, Herbrandston. PICTURE: Western Telegraph.