[James Kilkelly]

From the Offaly Express ....

The Irish love affair with potatoes is flagging and shoppers must be shown easy ways of cooking the vegetable to rekindle it, it has been claimed.
Shoppers in the Republic of Ireland have cut their potato purchases by more than 10% in the last quarter and are spending almost a fifth (19%) less than they were a year ago, according to market research firm TNS.

Lorcan Bourke, business analyst at the horticulture division of Bord Bia - the Irish Food Board, told The Grocer magazine that shoppers were choosing rice and pasta, which they perceived as easier to cook than potatoes.

Now I may be wrong, but I don't think the Irish love affair with potatoes is flagging.
The love affair with buying them possibly, but certainly not the growing of them.
Judging by the interest in these forums over the past few months where it seemed that almost every 2nd or 3rd thread was about growing spuds.
Examples of the threads include............
cross breading spuds
Is this Blight on my Sarpo Mira spuds?
xmas spuds
White spots on my potatoes
Storing spuds?
Dig potatoes or leave them in the ground after stalks die?
etc etc.

Eating potato sales were down but I bet you seed potato sales were through the roof.
I'm willing to wager a 20 kg bag of Kerr pinks on that.

The article in question can be found here........... http://www.offalyexpress.ie/latest-irish-news/Irish-lose-passion-for-potatoes.5557287.jp

If you are looking for seed potatoes you may be able to source some here....Seed potatoes

[Sarah Evans]

You are spot on James the demand for seed potatoes this year was incredible. Hope the wet summer does not put people off for next year.

[Sive]

Is it not a bit odd that the boffins in Bord Bia haven't thought of that possibility? It's a little worrying to see civil servants that far out of touch with what goes on around them.

[Foxylock]

You're dead right James I even found it difficult to get seed potatoes this year and with a reasonably successful crop so far I envisage growing spuds for many years to come.

[ian]

Hi James,
can you email that chap Lorcan Bourke to ask for figures for seed potato sales over last 5 years to see what the trend is there also, we might see a corresponding rise in grow your own.
Regards, Ian.

[kindredspirit]

To be fair, Lorcan Bourke was specifically talking about "shoppers", not home grown potatoes.

A 20% drop in the purchase of potatoes over just a 12 month period is MASSIVE and by no way could be negated by a large increase in the miniscule market of home grown potatoes. The majority of our population is now urban and the vast percentage of whom have no interest or facilities for growing their own produce.

An Bord Bia is looking at the overall picture of what people in general are eating.

By the way, I used to grow ALL my own potatoes for years up to about 15 years ago when, because of my workload, I found that I just didn't have the time to do it. There's great satisfaction in eating your own.

This autumn I will be trying home grown bulrush tubers! I will have a good harvest. Has anyone here eaten them and what's the best way to cook them? (Although I believe they can be eaten raw, I'm going to cook them first.)