Agriculture Federal government increases import quota for potatoes due to poor harvest

The federal government is once again increasing the import quota for potatoes - by a total of 15,000 tons. The reason for this is the poor harvest this year due to difficult weather conditions.

"The cultivation of potatoes was also very challenging this year due to the wet and humid weather in spring". Christian Bucher, Managing Director of Swisspatat, the industry organization for Swiss potatoes, said this on Friday when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. There was a "very heavy infestation" of late blight.

At the request of Swisspatat, the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) has approved the import of an additional 15,000 tons of processing potatoes within the tariff quota from 1 September 2024. This increase is valid until the end of the year.

According to Bucher, this will probably not be enough to cover demand. "In a few weeks, we'll know more about how this year's harvest will turn out." Surveys are being carried out in the field.