Irish consumers have been warned that Irish potatoes will be "scarce and dear and not very shapely" this winter as a result of a difficult growing season.
Teagasc's national potato expert, Mr Tom Maher, said there were two main problems this year, the first being a reduction in the acreage planted last season because of poor prices received by farmers last winter.
"There were 40,000 acres of potatoes planted last year and there were good yields. In fact Irish potatoes were so plentiful that they were being fed to pigs before the winter was out. As a result, there was a 10 per cent drop in the number of acres planted this year and this is a very substantial drop on a national basis," he said.
Mr Maher added that the recent dry weather had led to a situation where some farmers were forced to irrigate their potato crops - a labour-intensive operation. "They will not be too attractive looking but I can promise that while the overall quality may be difficult, this season will produce floury potatoes because the dry matter content will be high." Mr Maher explained that the rain currently covering much of the country had come just a little too late for the potato growers and yields from the second early crops had been low.
He said the main crop of Roosters, Pinks and Records normally yields 13 to 14 tonnes per acre. The cost of planting, harvesting and marketing potatoes is £1,000 an acre when delivered to the markets in September, rising to £2,000 per acre if the farmer holds and stores his crops for sale during the winter.