Representatives from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are set to host plant health technical bilateral meetings with their Japanese counterparts to continue mission-critical work on phytosanitary topics.
National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles and others from the U.S. potato industry plan to attend the gathering Sept. 17-19 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to support the industry’s ongoing efforts to open the market for U.S. fresh potatoes, according to a news release.
“Gaining full access to the Japanese market for U.S. fresh potatoes has been a focus of the potato industry for at least two decades,” Quarles said. “Yet, Japan continues to stall and delay the negotiations. The U.S. potato industry urges our partners at USDA to require Japan to uphold their international obligations. Securing access will help to reduce the U.S. agricultural trade deficit, benefiting American workers throughout the supply chain and Japanese consumers alike.”
Although the U.S. has held market access to Japan for chipping potatoes since 2006, the U.S. is seeking market access for all fresh potatoes, including table stock potatoes, the release said. Already the second-largest market for U.S. potatoes, Japan’s market for U.S. fresh potato exports is estimated at $150 million to $200 million annually, once fully opened.
In April 2024, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, along with eight of their Senate colleagues, sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting that he capitalize on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Washington, D.C., to request market access, the release said.
The Senators wrote that, despite the efforts of USDA’s APHIS, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries continues to delay substantive negotiations on table stock access.
“There is no valid phytosanitary justification for these delays, as the U.S. potato industry has a strong history of exporting fresh potatoes to many markets, including South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand,” the letter continued. “Technical discussions have not made meaningful progress and now is the time to find a solution for U.S. potato growers.”
