Historical document
WA seed potato industry study tour to Holland and Scotland, September 2007 (PT06045)
Publication date: December 1, 2007
Delivery Partner: Department of Agriculture & Food Western Australia
This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.
Production of seed potato in the Netherlands was a mature, professional and highly successful industry. There was an opportunity to develop the Western Australian potato industry by understanding and adopting some of the key strengths of the Dutch potato industry. Factors which helped form the Dutch potato industry as a world leader in seed potato exports were:
Examination of the Dutch potato industry also indicated some weaknesses which presented opportunities for the WA industry. The Netherlands was facing increasing constraints to production due to environmental, land and disease pressures. To compensate for this the Dutch were outsourcing production of seed to other countries. It would be beneficial to the WA industry to collaborate with Dutch companies to produce seed in WA which could be exported to South East Asia. To facilitate this process it was recommended that:
Review of the certification scheme in the Netherlands and the UK indicates that the majority of seed exported by WA was of an earlier generation and therefore likely to have a better health status and so produce higher crop yields. This competitive advantage needed to be better marketed so that clients of Western Australian seed understood how Australian seed compared to that produced by other countries.
This historical project was a strategic levy investment for the potato industry
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