Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
fell by nearly 15% (USDA-FAS, 2013). In 2003/
04,
USDA-FAS recorded the beginning of frozen
potato production in China. For the next
4
years,
China averaged a 12.5% annual increase in pro-
duction. Between 1996/
97
and 2006/
07,
total
global frozen potato production expanded by about
21% (USDA-FAS, 2013).
When production figures are compared
with consumption data from the same period,
opportunities for trade become clear. In 2006/
07,
Canada produced roughly 925,000 t more frozen
potato product than it consumed, providing
for a potentially significant exportable surplus.
Conversely, Japanese consumption estimates for
2006/
07
relative to production imply a short-
fall of about
300,000
t; a gap filled through
trade with the USA, Canada, and other partners.
In December 2012, the US Potato Board
(USPB) reported that targeted markets, primarily
in Asia, increased their imports of US frozen po-
tatoes by 18%, while sales to other markets were
down 7% on the year (USPB, 2012a). A USPB-
sponsored potato marketing campaign, focused on
promoting American potatoes abroad, was re-
portedly effective in increasing sales to the Philip-
pines by 76%, to Indonesia by 37%, to South Korea
by 50%, and to Mexico by 43% (USPB, 2012a).
Continued growth in the frozen potato cat-
egory is likely to be dependent on QSR growth in
developing countries and sustained demand in
Western and developed countries (Makki and
Plummer, 2005). Because frozen potatoes are
most often sold to restaurants, the economic
conditions that support consumption of meals
eaten outside the home will have an ongoing in-
fluence in the patronization of QSRs, and there-
fore consumption of French fries. Concerns
about the healthfulness of fast food may inhibit
growth in demand in the USA and the EU.
A potato chip is a thin-sliced piece of potato,
fried until crunchy, and then coated with sea-
sonings ranging from salt to powdered cheese,
vinegar, or any number of regionally popular
flavors and spices. Transporting the fragile chips
is challenging, and limits the economic appeal of
trade in finished chip products. Consequently,
much chip production occurs regionally or locally.
There is thought to be notable trade in fresh
chipping variety potatoes, which, once imported,
are processed into chips locally; however, exact
figures are difficult to find, as chipping potato
shipments are aggregated with fresh potato ship-
ment numbers.
In 2011, the US Department of Agriculture-
Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) reported
that the average domestic consumer purchased
6.7 kg of potato chips annually. Eighty-one facil-
ities processed 2.8 t of fresh potatoes (54.7 mil-
lion cwt) as chips and snacks in 2010, an increase
of 29% from the previous year's production
fi gures (USDA-ERS, 2011). Processing facilities
are distributed across the country; however, a
concentration of chip plants is located near the
population centers of the eastern seaboard
(USDA-ERS, 2011).
According to the USPB, the USA manufac-
tures more potato chips than any country, which
reflects the domestic popularity of the snack
food (USPB, 2012b). Year-round demand neces-
sitates year-round chip production, and thus
a supply of chipping varieties, often from geo-
graphically diverse locations, to maintain chip
stock. Chipping potatoes are grown through-
out the country, and major domestic varieties
include: Alturas, Andover, Atlantic, Chipeta,
Dakota Pearl, Ivory Crisp, Kennebec, LaChipper,
Marcy, Megachip, NorValley, Norwis, Pike, Reba,
and Snowden (USPB, 2012b).
Chips
Dehydrated
The process of removing moisture from a potato,
known as dehydration, increases the tuber's
storability and, arguably, its versatility. Dehy-
drated potatoes are lightweight and less bulky
than fresh potatoes. When rehydrated, 1 kg of
dehydrated product will yield approximately 5 kg
of potato product (USPB, 2012c). Unlike frozen
potatoes, no refrigeration is necessary to preserve
the integrity of dehydrated products (USPB, 2012c).
The origin of potato chips (also known as crisps)
has been attributed to an American chef work-
ing at a resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, in
1850 (SFA, 2012). The first chips were thin
sliced and crunchy, in order to appease custom-
ers who were unhappy with soggy French-fried
potatoes. The chips, known as Saratoga Chips,
were popular with guests and demand expanded
quickly (SFA, 2012).
