The potatoes grown in the Foufas community of the Eordea Municipality, in Greece, are gaining more and more popularity amongst consumers. For the past 40 years, potato growers in the area have seen their efforts to build a reputation for the area's production pay off; the acreage in the region has reached 2,500 hectares and the production stands at 2,000 tonnes, of which half the amount is made available to the processing industry for the production of chips.
As stated by the head of the local community, Nikolaos Vorsias, who oversees the farm and the sorting unit - as well as the standardisation and packaging of fresh peeled potatoes - the product is of excellent quality, mostly due to the region's altitude, the soil composition and the experience of the growers responsible for its cultivation. "The potato is yellow, delicious and tasty," he affirms.
They report that although the spring production was sold at low prices, the prospects for the winter are quite good. The harvest will start from mid-September and prices are expected to reach 35-40 cents. "We have the best chips at the most affordable prices," stated Mr Vorsias.
Mr Vorsias also reported that the biggest threats for potato growers in Foufas are imports from Turkey, as well as the absence of a Seed Centre in Greece, which raises the costs of cultivation.
Source: ypaithros.gr