News on The Potato Supply Chain from Japan

Kobe University found that potatoes secrete a molecule (SEC) that microbes convert into compounds triggering potato parasite hatching. This three-way interaction could help develop 'suicide hatching' methods to control crop-damaging nematodes.

Calbee Group has partnered with the Shiretoko Shari Agricultural Cooperative to secure a stable supply of potatoes. As part of their collaboration, the agricultural cooperative plans to build a new frozen processing facility, aimed at enhancing production and ensuring consistent potato supply for Calbee's operations.

In a significant stride towards facilitating global potato trade, 1,4GROUP and DormFresh has announced the attainment of Import Tolerance for the sprout inhibitor 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene (1,4-DMN) in Japan.

What happens when Asia’s biggest potato chip maker runs out of potatoes? Japanese snack brand Calbee had to learn the hard way.

Drinks like sake and wine are often appreciated for their regional characteristics that are deeply rooted in the environmental conditions from the crop used. So, why not potato chips too?

There are all sorts of ways Japanese convenience stores earn the "convenient" part of their name. They’ve got branches all over, for example, so you’re hardly ever more than a short walk away from one.

Last week Japan eliminated its remaining 2.1% tariff on US frozen fries (HS 2004.10) as a result of the tariff concessions secured under the US-Japan Trade Agreement.

Potato growers in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan's second-largest potato-producing region hope to boost their name recognition as a potato producer with a new variety, "Nagasaki Kogane" (Nagasaki Gold), which it filed for registration in 2015.

Japanese snack maker Calbee is increasing the amount of the crop it grows in rice fields. Paddy-field potatoes are mainly grown in Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, but Calbee also plans to start cultivating them in the northern regions of Hokkaido and Tohoku.

Japan's potato supply is rebounding -- with wholesale and retail prices falling -- thanks to solid shipments from secondary producing regions starting in the spring.

Calbee, Inc. the largest potato chip manufacturer in Japan, had some good news for Potato Chip Lovers in the country: it will resume sales of three brands of potato chips it suspended in April because of the potato shortage.

Japan's potato chip shortage is rapidly developing into a crisis, with consumers rushing to stock up on what little is left in supermarkets and manufacturers struggling to find fresh supplies.

Japan’s potato chip lovers, beware: Your favourite snacks may become harder to find. The country’s worst potato harvest in at least 34 years has prompted major snack makers to halt production of several types of snacks.

Japan's largest fresh potato production region - Hokkaido - was struck by four typhoons in August of 2016. Approximately 24,000 ha of land received damaging levels of rain and flooding, including areas producing fresh potatoes.

After several years of negotiations, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) has agreed to allow US chipping potatoes to be transported overland from an international port to an approved processing facility in Kagoshima.

McDonald's Japan is to only sell small portions of fries starting December 17, in response to the french fry shortage in the country.

Restaurants in Japan are rushing to secure supplies of french fries after shipment delays from the US, with one chain readying to airlift 200 tons of fries.

Phytophthora is Latin for “plant destroyer,” and Phytophthora infestans is the pathogen that causes potato late blight. This pathogen is responsible for widespread devastation of potato crops, and is especially known as the cause of the mass starvati...