SCOTLAND’s seed potatoes are highly prized, sought after by farmers across the world because our scientists, our farmers, and our climate deliver disease-free, reliable tubers.
Before Brexit, 77,000 tonnes of seed potato left our shores – with 20,000 of those tonnes heading to European nations. Seed potatoes from the UK are no longer allowed into the EU, and that is hitting Scottish businesses hard.
Andrew Skea’s farm lies in Auchterhouse, a little flurry of houses and fields which sweep from the Sidlaws towards Dundee. He specialises in heritage, organic, and conservation varieties which are hugely popular in Germany and Sweden.
“We used to sell 40 high-value varieties, but we have lost our exports completely – half of our sales,” he says. “We had a domestic market of 500 million people. That’s been cut to 50m. The UK market alone just isn’t enough to keep some varieties going. It took me 20 years to grow the business to have enough to sell to meet the demand.
READ MORE: New Zealand trade deal will damage Scottish farmers, Holyrood ministers warn
“Even if we got back into the EU, it would take me another 10 years to build it again – it would take three seasons to grow enough potatoes even to have the volume for the market. We kept hoping a resolution would be found which would allow us to trade with the EU again.”
There has been shock in the international community about the way in which Westminster has approached its obligations to the international treaty it signed with Europe.
There is a feeling among political observers that the European Union is using the valuable seed potato sector as leverage with the UK Government and there has been much dismay in the way politicians seem prepared to sacrifice farming – and our crucial food security – in the process.
There was outrage recently when Scottish farmers learned the EU ban on seed potatoes was a one-way deal and that some English growers were importing seed potatoes from Europe, rather than from their Scottish counterparts. Andrew Connon, vice-president of the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland, said: “The UK Government is allowing this loophole rather than standing strong for Scottish farmers. We think the trade deal should be reciprocal.
“We need to sort it out but it all comes down to politics. The UK Government is in denial to reality, whether it is seed potatoes, trade deals, the lack of labour, or the impact of fuel costs on food production.”
Connon and his colleagues were over at the European Commission earlier this year, working to get Scottish seed potatoes back onto European farms. He said: “We told them, ‘this is an issue of food security’. Your farmers want our seed. We were told, ‘you chose to leave’.
“Then Defra [the UK Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs] told us just to look for new markets. We have big challenges ahead of us.”
Back in Auchterhouse, Skea and his family are working hard to try to plug the huge gap left by the loss of European sales. They set up “The Potato House”, selling a range of organic and conservation seed potatoes directly to gardeners who appreciate the flavour and value of heritage varieties.
“We used to go through intermediaries, garden centres and the like, but now we sell 60 varieties direct to the public online,” Skea said. “We sold 250,000 seed potatoes last year. It no way makes up for the European trade we have lost, and we have cut our range significantly, but it is a welcome addition. I feel I’m due some luck.”
We face an uncertain year ahead. Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the impact of climate change are hitting our farmers hard. The cost of producing food is rocketing.
The political choices which are causing the cost-of-living crisis are made in a London that refuses to listen. Perhaps it is little wonder that more people are reaching out to businesses like The Potato House and turning a patch of land over to tatties, that traditional Scottish mainstay.
Ruth Watson is the founder of the Keep Scotland the Brand campaign.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel