Retail chains Novus, Megamarket, and Fozzy Group seek to eventually switch to selling only washed potatoes in supermarkets, writes AgroTimes. This was announced at the XI Dutch-Ukrainian Forum on Professional Potato Growing by Oles Kapitanchuk, the director of the Tolsma Technik company, which supplies equipment for finishing and processing potatoes.
“In developed countries, unwashed potatoes are not sold in supermarkets. Some Ukrainian chains have said they want to switch to washed potatoes over time and move towards the highest standards. These chains are Novus, Megamarket, and the Fozzy Group brands,” said Mr Kapitanchuk.
He also notes that the transition to trade in washed potatoes has been hindered by the low purchasing power of Ukrainians and the unpreparedness of potato producers to make serious investments in growing technologies, processing, and storing products.
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In the process of washing, a large number of potatoes are revealed as non-commercial products that need to be processed. Washing also reveals many potato diseases. To get rid of these issues, producers will need to invest more in healthy potato seeds and protection products as well as equipment for growing, processing, and storing potatoes.
According to the Tolsma Technik company, three companies are currently engaged in the industrial washing of potatoes in Ukraine. Two of them are in the Zhytomyr region and one in the Kyiv region. Over the last year, 5,500 tons of washed potatoes were sold in Ukrainian supermarkets.
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