Dec 27, 2017Perdue points out potato accomplishments as year comes to close
On Dec. 21, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue released a year-end recap of the USDA’s 2017 achievements and potatoes were high on the list. The secretary called out the reentry of U.S. chipping potatoes from Idaho into Japan as one of USDA “significant trade victories.” 
“We are committed to opening up new market opportunities for U.S. producers, and I am gratified that farmers in Idaho, our largest potato-producing state, will prosper while helping Japan with their supply of fresh chipping potatoes,” Perdue said.
Japan had halted imports in 2006 due to the detection of potato cyst nematode. Once the eradication program was fully effective, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) worked with Japanese and Idaho officials to re-open the market.
National Potato Council CEO John Keeling said Perdue’s team and the experts at APHIS as well as the Foreign Agricultural Service have been strong advocates for our industry over the past year.
