Japan Opens Wide to U.S. Spuds Again
Japan is now allowing the import of fresh U.S. potatoes. Japan put the ban on fresh U.S. potatoes because of diseased and pests. Since the U.S. eliminated the diseased, Japan lifted the ban. Now, the U.S. will be allowed to ship fresh potatoes from February to June under the new trade agreement to Japan for potato chip production. This is very good news for potato farmers who have been struggling in past years due to America's sliding prices and low-carb diets. Potato farmers from 14 states in the U.S., including Washington, Idaho, and Oregon will be allowed to trade to Japan, which together produce about 60 % of the nation's potato crop.
As was mentioned in the article, this trade agreement will be very profitable for potato farmers. Expansion of the potato market overseas will benefit the farmers since demand for potatoes has decreased in the U.S. because many Americans have become more health conscious over the years. More potato exports from the U.S. might result in a decrease in the supply of potatoes available to U.S. consumers, which will, as a result, increase demand along with the price, and doubly benefitting potato farmers. While potato consuming Americans might not be thrilled with the price increase, potato chip lovers maybe won't mind quite as much.
3 comments:
I can only imagine the hit that potato farmer took when the “carb free” diet came out. I’m exited that the US will be exporting a product that we grow so easily. Although I’m starting to wonder if the potato (chip) companies will move their companies over seas now because labor is cheaper. I can’t wait to see what happened with the potato industry in the next couple of years because I’m sure that it will become more profitable so more farmers will join the potato crop industry to make a profit. Although, potato’s might be in short supply, I can’t see a little bag of chips going much over a couple of dollars.
That is good to hear that the potato farmers are going to be more profitable this year because of this agreement, hopefully it will still be the same in years to come.
I don't think that the price of potatoes will increase in either the US market or the Japanese market. Because farmers in the US are highly subsidized, they are already selling their products above the actual market equilibrium. So, what I see happening is instead of the government buying the surplus of potatoes from farmers, farmers will export some of the surplus to Japan. Ultimately it shouldn't affect the number of potatoes available to US consumers.
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