The U.S. potato industry is renewing its push to open Japan to fresh American potatoes. National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles recently returned from Tokyo, where U.S. and Japanese officials held agricultural trade discussions. “They are using the excuse of phytosanitary issues, pest and disease issues, really to guard against what the major issue really is,” Quarles said. “They don’t import potatoes from anywhere. Their domestic industry has a complete monopoly on their domestic market for table stock potatoes, and they don’t want to give that monopoly up.” The industry has pursued access for more than 30 years. Quarles estimates an open Japanese market could generate $150 million annually in new U.S. agricultural exports. “For the potato industry, that would be roughly a ten percent increase globally in our potato exports.”
