Asked about the call to scrap import tariffs on frozen fries, Potatoes SA concurred that South Africa faced a real risk of dumping, should Europe have an over-supply of product at any given time.
Hanrie Greebe, the association’s spokesperson, said extending the duties by five years, which is what they hoped ITAC would do, would encourage the industry to invest in expanding its processing capacity.
“The current chips processors prefer to use their own cultivars for specific lines, but there is also more than enough evidence that the current table cultivars produced in South Africa will, to a large extent, meet the requirement for chips,” she said, adding that processor capacity expansion falls within the mandate of the current Agricultural Master Plan.
“We, in the potato industry, are already consulting with role players on the implementation of such opportunities. There is sufficient reason to motivate that there are investment opportunities for infrastructure development and production capacity development within the potato environment in relation to processing.”
To read the full article by Georgina Crouth as published in the Daily Maverick, click here.