That’s the surprising finding of a new report by researchers at SRUC which has highlighted a 71 per cent reduction in the demand for fresh potatoes in the UK since the 1970s, with consumers switching to alternatives such as rice and pasta.
This trend has been added to by the loss of access to export markets for seed potatoes following Brexit, particularly for Scotland where seed production is more important due to its disease-free growing conditions and associated ‘high health’ status.
However the report found the picture to be slightly better in Scotland where the tattie market is more stable than at a UK level, representing nearly a quarter of the overall potato production from farms.
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