Blackwater Valley potato growers have increased their production of chipping potatoes by 40% in last two years.

In 2022, over 50,000t of chipping potatoes were imported into Ireland, but Blackwater Valley growers plan to increase production in the next two years again, replacing at least 15% of these imports to supply the local market.

Friday 6 October is Bord Bia’s national potato day and Blackwater Valley potato growers are celebrating the fact that they will exclusively supply Bord Bia quality assured chipping potatoes to the popular Dino’s chain of seven chip shops in Cork.

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The move comes on the back of an ongoing initiative by Bord Bia, Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture and the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) to increase the volume of domestically-grown potatoes being produced by Irish growers for sale in Irish chip shops.

Group

Blackwater Valley is a group of 15 Cork- and Waterford-based chipping potato growers marketing their produce through Meadowfresh, based in Tallow in west Waterford.

Meadowfresh managing director John Geary said: "When it comes to chipping potatoes, the quality is really important and in order to encourage chip shops to use Irish potatoes, we need to ensure that the produce they are receiving is of a consistently high quality year-round.

"All of our Blackwater Valley potato growers are Bord Bia quality assured and the potatoes are stored in the optimum conditions and quality checked to ensure only the best potatoes, grown locally, are supplied to Irish chippers.

"Our growers have great ambition to further increase planting of chipping potatoes to meet increasing local demand in the coming years.”

Quality

From this month, Dino’s chain of seven chip shops across Cork will display the Bord Bia quality mark along with photographs of some of the Blackwater Valley potato growers to communicate to consumers that all of their potatoes come from local, quality assured, potato suppliers.

Dino (Denis) Cregan, Founder of Dino’s Chip shops said: "Since we opened our first chip shop in 1970, our philosophy has always been ‘you are only as good as your last bag of chips’ so the quality of the potatoes we use is crucial.

"We have always sourced from local suppliers where possible, but this new partnership with Blackwater Valley growers means that all of our potatoes will be of the highest quality and will come from within a 30km radius of the chip shop, which is something we are really proud of.”

Fresh produce and potato manager of Bord Bia Lorcan Bourke added that its research has shown that two in three Irish people assume(incorrectly) that the potatoes used to make the majority of chipper chips come from Ireland, when, in fact, the majority of chipping potatoes are imported into Ireland each year.

"The more consumers become aware of the origin of the potatoes used to make their chips, the greater the market opportunity for Irish potato growers," he said.