Hansard

Absolutely. The Scottish Government’s tonnage figures show that only a handful of varieties are used, and there are many other brilliant varieties out there that people are not but should be made aware of.

Scotland produces 600,000 tonnes of potatoes each year. That tonnage is valued at around £180 million, and around half of it is made up of our world-class seed potatoes, which are clearly the foundation of our potato industry. Scottish seed potatoes are exported to more than 50 countries outside the EU and generate £35 million for the economy; Egypt is the largest seed export destination, with demand up 20 per cent on previous years, and Scotland has now overtaken the Netherlands as the largest seed supplier to that country.

There is lots of good news out there about Scottish potatoes—and, indeed, there is even more. A recent study published in the British Nutrition Foundation’s Nutrition Bulletin on the nutritional values of potatoes and potato products in the UK diet revealed that choosing to consume potatoes in place of more energy-dense foods could have a significant impact on reducing calorie consumption and improve nutrient density, potentially contributing to the avoidance of obesity. I am certainly taking note of that. In addition, potatoes as a white vegetable play an important role in enriching the diet by providing important micronutrients as well as dietary fibre and unsaturated fatty acids. Potato consumption is declining slightly, but it would seem that it should be encouraged, particularly given that, according to the study, potatoes provide on average more fibre, more potassium, more vitamin C, more folate and more magnesium compared with their energy contribution. In other words, potatoes increase the diet’s nutrient density and play an important role in improving our diet. They are not only a source of dietary fibre; they provide the micronutrients that I mentioned earlier. In short, provided that care is taken over the amount of added fat and salt, the consumption of potatoes, as white vegetables, should be encouraged alongside the consumption of coloured vegetables as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

My time is limited, but I will squeeze in a bit of praise for the Scottish Rural University College and the work that it continues to do on blight-resistant varieties. Late blight costs Scottish farmers around £500 per hectare, or up to half of all production costs. The SRUC believes that using newer blight-resistant varieties could help to control blight in a more cost-effective way.

It is clear that a lot of work is going on at all stages in the potato industry, from research to growing to marketing. Let us do all that we can to ensure that the humble Scottish spud continues to make a significant contribution to our diet and our economy.