Business Rural Winter 2021
New Zealands leading suppliers of quality seed potatoes Christchurch Off ice 171 Waterholes Road Springston , Canterbury Alex McDonald and its contracted seed potato growers produce high health seed potatoes for the New Zealand fresh market, crisping and french-fry sectors. Table potatoes are also exported throughout the South Pacific Islands. The growing and packing of seed potatoes is carried out on farms within the area of the Canterbury Plains. Pleased to be celebrating our 80th year in 2021 Telephone: Phone: 03 358 3390 Mob: 021 322943 almac-nz.com High health seed potatoes for NZ market Kerry Hughes is Managing Director of seed potato producer Alex McDonald Ltd, a business that straddles 80 years and counting. Based in Canterbury, Alex McDonald Ltd is the country’s largest producer of a wide range of seed potato breeds. He’s been with the company 26 years and has seen a lot of change happen in that time. “The biggest single thing was the rise of washed potatoes through supermarkets. We had a premium variety, Nadine, in that time; it washed up so clean and bright,” Kerry says. This demand for washed potatoes, however saw an increase in waste within the industry, with upward of 25% of crops rejected. Move forward to now, and the emphasis is much more driven by the consumer’s desire for quality and lavour and there’s been a burgeoning in varieties available at retailed outlets. Alex McDonald Ltd works closely with overseas and New Zealand potato breeding companies. It’s business plan includes a commitment to reinvesting in packing, grading and on-farmproduction to ensure its customers receive the very best seed potatoes on time and at the best cost. Back in the 1970’s Alex McDonalds sons Alistair and Colin discovered a seed potato propagation certi ication scheme in Scotland and brought it back to New Zealand, in partnership with Plant & Food and Pyper Produce. Now, after 45 years in this collaboration, Alex McDonald Ltd is taking over the Pathogen Testing Scheme itself, prompting the need to build a new glass-house facility to be sited at Christchurch’s Agricultural Innovation Park. The glass-house, from Holland, will be completed by June this year and at 576m2 will provide much greater capacity and future-proof the business for years to come. “We’re very excited about the glass-house and what it will mean to our teamof 10 full-time sta and 8 casuals,” Kerry says. Withmore capacity we will be able to produce more seed quicker which could lead to cutting out a generation leading to younger seed being available to growers.” Enabling the production of 10,000 tonnes of seed potatoes last year is a group of contract growers on farms throughout the region. Volumes produced tend to stay at this level year on year, giving the company, its growers and customers business certainty. “The new glass-house will be fully automated. Holland leads the world in glass-house innovation, with state of the art technologies throughout.” Recently released New Zealand and overseas bred potato cultivars go through an intensive trialling period, to determine if they meet the high demands fromwithin the potato industry here. “Our customers grow our seed potatoes to supply the fresh potato, crisping and French fry industries who demand a high level of consistent taste, texture and performance.” Alex McDonald Ltd currently produces over 70 varieties of seed potatoes. “It’s become an industry where the focus is on consumer choice, hence somany di erent varieties now than decades ago. I’mnot sure whether this has necessarily been a positive thing for the seed potato sector,” says Kerry. Toomany varieties and all with di erent use, skin colour, lesh colour, cooking quality, storing qualities can just confuse the consumer. So with a new glass-house and sole ownership of the certi ication scheme, Alex McDonald Ltd looks poised to meet any future increases in demand. “We haven’t exported seed for a few years now, but some of our clients still export to New Caledonia and also Thailand. We do export table potatoes to Fiji. New Zealand exports something like 15,000 tonnes of table potatoes to Fiji each year.”
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