Idaho agriculture officials work on getting Japan to lift import ban on fresh potatoes

Idaho officials are taking steps to get fresh potatoes to Japan.

Representatives from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and the Idaho Potato Commission traveled to Japan in early June on a trade mission to promote market access for fresh U.S. potatoes, according to an ISDA news release.

Traveling alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Idaho delegation joined 11 state departments of agriculture, 40 agribusinesses and several farm organizations in Japan, which is Idaho’s fifth-largest trading partner. It’s the fourth-largest market for U.S. food and agricultural products.

While Japan imports frozen U.S. potatoes for chipping purposes, a ban on fresh potatoes prevents Idaho farmers from sending the vegetable to Japan.

Sam Eaton, vice president of legal affairs at the Idaho Potato Commission, previously told the Idaho Capital Sun that the ban is a “politically sensitive issue,” noting that the Japanese government’s goal is to protect local farmers and ensure imports are free of pests or diseases.

“Japan has agreed for a number of years to conduct a ‘pest risk assessment’ to determine what their concerns are, but we believe that this has largely been used as a delay tactic to protect their primary concern,” he said.

In 2022, potato exports from the U.S. reached a record $2.1 billion in sales. That number would include an additional $150 million if Japan were to open its market to fresh U.S. potatoes, according to the National Potato Council.

Idaho ag officials call trade mission productive

Representing the Idaho Potato Commission, Eaton was a part of the Idaho delegation that traveled to Japan. In the release, he said it is important for U.S. trade officials to continue pressuring Japanese officials to accept fresh potatoes.

In 2022, Mexico lifted a 25-year ban that had prevented U.S. farmers from exporting fresh potatoes to the country, and Eaton said he hopes Japan will do the same.

“We also have broad support from our partners at the National Potato Council and Potatoes USA as well as the entire Idaho Congressional Delegation,” Eaton said in the release. “We are fresh off our recent success in Mexico and the potato industry needs to carry that momentum into our efforts with Japan.”

Idaho Potato Commission Chairman Bryan Wada also called the multiday event “very productive” and a step in the right direction to open the Japanese market. “With our high-quality product and international brand recognition, I believe Idaho potatoes are positioned to do particularly well in the Japanese market,” Wada said.

ISDA Director Chanel Tewalt, who met with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on the trip, said she was “very encouraged by the discussions we had in Japan, and especially pleased to have been able to leverage the scale and depth of this mission to advocate for Idaho’s producers.”

The Idaho group said it met with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service officials to discuss the status of providing the scientific and technical information Japan needs to evaluate the country’s market access request. The delgation also facilitated discussion with top potato processors, including Simplot, McCain Foods and Lamb Weston.