Questions from state's spud farmers on restrictions on potatoes leaving Tasmania

It is unclear when restrictions on potatoes leaving the state will be lifted.

Tasmanian seed potatoes cannot be exported to New South Wales, Victoria, or South Australia without further specific approvals from the relevant regulatory agency.

Those three states also do not allow the importation of fresh and processed potatoes from Tasmania unless they are:

• Not sourced from properties with potential links to sites where mop-top has been detected
• Free from soil
• Free of powdery scab symptoms
• Packaged and labelled “for human consumption”
• Have property of origin details

There are no restrictions on pre-processed potatoes, such as frozen fries, from Tasmania.

Potato producer and TasFarmers Vegetable Committee Chairman Nathan Richardson said growers were desperate to see work done to allow for spuds to move freely interstate.

“Tasmanian potato growers want to know what work is being done on a national level on this trade embargo that mainland states have on Tasmanian potatoes,” Mr Richardson said.

“We have a shortage at the moment of fresh market spuds and we could be having the same conversation in six or seven months about processed potatoes because there’s a lot of seed potatoes destined for the mainland.

“And if they don’t get planted, that’s a massive loss to everyone in the industry.”

Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the Australian government understood the critical importance of Tasmania’s potato farmers and the world-class produce they are growing.

“The government continues to provide support to state and territory governments and domestic industries as we work through the impact of the potato mop-top virus,” Ms Collins said.

“We are developing a new National Food Security Strategy, Feeding Australia, to boost the productivity, resilience and security of our food system. 

“We are committed to ensuring Australians are paying a fair price for their groceries and our farmers are getting a fair price for their hard work.    

“We made the Food and Grocery Code mandatory from 1 April 2025 and have announced we will soon consult on extending unfair trading practices to small businesses.”

Biosecurity Tasmania said it was continuing to work with regulators in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales to negotiate options for re-establishing trade for the state’s potatoes.