NPC: “Disappointment” in USDA, Prince Edward Island potato move
To the dismay of U.S. potato leaders worried about the spread of potato wart disease, the USDA has announced that Canada is expected to soon resume exporting Prince Edward Island table stock potatoes into the contiguous U.S.
In November, Canadian authorities voluntarily suspended exports of all potatoes for consumption and planting from Prince Edward Island following a detection of potato wart disease. Potato wart disease is not known to occur in the U.S., according to the USDA.
USDA said the expected resumption in trade was the result of the U.S. and Canada "reaching an understanding" about the risk of table stock potato imports from Prince Edward Island.
Canada will lift its ban while the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service plans to publish a federal order outlining additional required mitigations to protect the U.S. potato industry, according to a news release.
The agency said it has determined Prince Edward Island potatoes for consumption only may resume under specified conditions that will pose little risk of introducing potato wart disease into the U.S. Potato wart is a soil-borne disease that reduces yield and marketability and for which there is no cure, according to the release.
"USDA bases all our agricultural trade decisions on sound science," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. "We are confident that table stock potatoes can enter the U.S. with appropriate safeguards in place to ensure the U.S. potato industry remains protected."
The release said USDA requirements and Canadian Food Inspection Agency mitigations require that imported table stock potatoes from Prince Edward Island and the seed potatoes used to produce them must originate from fields not known to be infested with potato wart or associated with known infestations.
In addition, the table stock potatoes must be washed while still in Prince Edward Island to remove soil, and must be treated with a sprout inhibitor and graded to meet the U.S. No 1 standard. Shipments must be officially inspected by the National Plant Protection Organization of Canada and certified as meeting USDA requirements, according to the release.
NPC: "Disappointment"
The National Potato Council released a statement disagreeing with the decision to open up shipments from Prince Edward Island.
“We are dismayed to learn that USDA is allowing [Prince Edward Island] table stock potatoes to resume shipments to the U.S. prior to completing soil tests for the destructive potato wart disease. Potato wart has been found in Prince Edward Island in eight of the past 10 years, and in a total of 33 potato fields since 2000. The frequency of finds, plus the dramatic drop in the number of disease tests via soil samples, should make U.S. regulators question the prevalence of the disease on the island.
Canadian authorities themselves understand the severity of the disease, which is why, after the most recent finds in October 2021, they took immediate action to restrict the movement of seed potato from Prince Edward Island to their other provinces. Unfortunately, today’s announcement by USDA overlooks the severity of the disease.
Should potato wart be transmitted to the United States, the economic consequences would be devastating and immediate. Beyond the domestic costs to growers and the industry, the U.S. would likely immediately lose access to all international fresh potato markets, costing the industry over $225 million in annual exports and billions of dollars in additional indirect damage.
The announcement today that USDA is allowing resumption of trade with essentially no additional safeguards is disappointing. It is surprising that USDA is allowing a lesser standard for Canadian growers via soil testing than is conversely required for U.S. growers. For U.S. potato exports to Canada, [the Canadian Food Inspection Agency] requires rigorous soil testing in Idaho where state and federal officials are mandated to conduct soil samples on every field to ensure they are clear of the potato cyst nematode pest.
Given the history of disease detections, U.S. potato growers fear that potato wart in Prince Edward Island is far from under control. Today’s decision to allow potatoes from untested fields to enter the U.S. does not assuage their concerns. We strongly urge USDA to enact science-based mitigation measures that will protect U.S. growers from this highly destructive disease.”
The USDA said Animal and Plant Health Inspection officials will continue to work with Canada to "increase confidence in its long-term management plan for potato wart," specifically to finish processing remaining samples associated with recent detections, to expand surveillance of nonregulated fields in Prince Edward Island and to continue its national surveillance program.
