Produce what consumers want, Tesco tells spud growers

17 February 1998

Produce what consumers want, Tesco tells spud growers

A LEADING supermarket adviser has accused potato growers of selecting new
varieties according to production likes and dislikes, rather than to meet
consumer demands for appearance, taste and texture.

Sandy Norman, a specialist technical adviser for Tesco, told a potato
conference in Dublin that farmers were being driven by the potential of high
yields and good disease resistance.

“All our commercial decisions are based on what out customers tell us in response to market surveys and test-marketing operations,” he said.

Tesco is setting up supply chains for its products, including potatoes, which
it wants to source from local growers. It invested £630 million just over a year
ago in the acquisition of a supermarket chain in the Republic of Ireland.

An Bord Glas, Irelands Horticultural Development Board, has produced a
report calling for the Irish seed potato regulatory framework to be modernised
and for the implementation of a new strategy to ensure the development of
long-term breeding capabilities.

• The Scotsman 17/02/98 page 28