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Poor harvest forces Swiss to import more potatoes

Spuds
Potatoes at a farm shop in Zurich. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The weather forecast for the potato harvest is poor, with the consequence that the Swiss government has announced it is increasing import quotas by 15,000 tonnes.

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“Potato growing has been difficult this spring because of the wet and humid weather,” Swisspatat director Christian Bucher told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS on Friday. There had been a “very severe infestation” of late blight, he said.

At Swisspatat’s request, the Federal Office for Agriculture authorised the import of a further 15,000 tonnes of processing potatoes under the tariff quota from September 1. This increase is valid until the end of the year.

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According to Bucher, it will probably not be enough to cover demand. “We will have to wait a few weeks before we know the results of this year’s harvest,” he added.

Translated from French by DeepL/ts

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