How do you pick out your spuds?
You may be surprised to know that, according to those in the industry, Australia has the prettiest potatoes in the world.
However, the focus on appearance comes at a cost.
Terry Buckley, a major potato grower based in South Australia’s south-east, is one of several farmers who presented to the state’s Select Committee into Supermarket Pricing in Mount Gambier last week.
According to Mr Buckley, Australia has become spoilt when it comes to potato looks, as one of the few countries in the world where they are available year-round.
“We’ve got the highest standard of French fries, crisps and fresh potatoes in the world,” Mr Buckley said.
“There’s obviously a lot of wastage in trying to achieve those high standards.”
Mr Buckley is one of Australia’s major potato producers. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
Mr Buckley said standards were a lot lower in other countries.
“When you go to Europe or the United States you get stored potatoes for six or eight months of the year, so they’re used to a potato that doesn’t look perfect,” he said.
“They sort of dismiss the lack of perfection, and then they’re more inclined to look at what they taste like, eat like.”
Mr Buckley said supermarkets and consumers had to learn to look further than skin deep, as that part was removed anyway.
Australian potatoes that do not meet supermarket appearance standards are generally used as stock feed.
Potatoes are also being harvested earlier than was necessary to limit potential defects.
“The longer you leave them in the ground the more defects tend to happen,” Mr Buckley said.
“So [farmers] are often harvesting potatoes at say 80-90 days, which should really grow [to] 120 days.”
Australia has some of the highest standards for potatoes in the world. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
High standards cause waste
Select committee chair and Greens MLC, Robert Simms, said the focus on the appearance of potatoes was “absurd” because it contributed to higher prices and more waste.
“That’s really concerning from my perspective when one considers the scale of the cost-of-living crisis we have at the moment,” he said.
“Potato is a staple food — it’s cheap, it’s filling, and if you’re someone who’s trying to put food on the table for your family, getting access to cheap potatoes is a really good way to do that.”
Greens MLC Robert Simms is chair of the select committee. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Mr Simms said the committee had heard from the supermarkets about their aesthetic standards for other products during hearings in Adelaide.
“Woolworths spoke about the fact that there isn’t a consumer desire for big bananas,” Mr Simms said.
“So you might see things being discarded or sent off for other use in that circumstance.”
Mr Simms said there was not an “easy fix” for supermarket pricing that would make supermarkets, producers and consumers all happy.
“We have the benefit now though of having got the recommendations from the national inquiry, having got some of the independent inquiries as well, and now we can identify the gaps,” he said.
“There’s a lot of things we can do at our level.”
Mr Simms said the committee plans to give its recommendations to parliament by the end of the year.
