Potato supplier Albert Bartlett has called for more support for Jersey Royal potato production as sales to traditional UK markets continue to fall.
In peak season, Albert Bartlett, which markets the crop on behalf of seven independent growers, sends 1.5 million packs of Jersey Royals a week to major UK retailers but the company says that is around 25% less than five years ago, as demand has declined. To try to maintain a premium price the Jersey government recently imposed limits on the amount of land which can be used for potato cultivation on the island and the volume of exports.
Albert Bartlett says its growers reduced their area by 15% this season. “It’s changed dramatically,” Operations Director Tim Ward commented. “A very premium product in an inflationary market, it’s made it more difficult, so certainly demand has reduced. If we don’t get the right volume at the right price, it makes it very difficult to make money.”
Mr Ward called on the Jersey government to provide more support for potato farmers. “I think there’s a real concern about the next generation of farmer and where they’re going to come from,” he added. “And they’re only going to be encouraged into the business if it’s profitable, if it’s viable, if it’s sustainable. That needs reinvestment and takes money which means support from government.”
However, Jersey’s Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel said any additional funding would be targeted at helping to open up new markets for the iconic product. “We send oysters to Dubai, ice cream to the far east,” he said. “Why aren’t we sending Jersey Royals elsewhere? Jersey has an amazing story to tell about its farming with its high-quality, premium products and I think they would sell in any market. It does take time, but that’s the journey we’ve started and that’s the journey we’re on.”
Despite this, at the start of the season Mike Renouard of the Jersey Royal Potato Company was unconvinced about the potential for new markets. He told the Jersey Evening Post, “The Royal does not have the same consumer following in Europe that it does in the UK, which is our main market. With the global increases in the cost of living, it is the right time to consolidate, rather than expand, production for the next few years. In saying that, we do have some markets outside the UK with some crops now being exported to Poland and Scandinavia despite all the restrictions and paperwork required since Brexit.”