Focusing on product was voted as more important than price after a hotly contested debate between potato growers and industry experts.

The potato sector has been under immense pressure in recent seasons, with oversupply and declining consumption of fresh potatoes pulling down market prices.

And with the cost of production in Britain estimated at about £47/t more than our northern European neighbours, there is also pressure from more competitively priced imports.

This is highlighted by the fact that a staggering 60% of all processed potato products consumed in Britain is produced from European potatoes.

See also: Outlook 2016 – Predictions for the potato sector

Offering a chink of light is the fact that 2015 plantings were down to about 111,600ha, 7.8% less than the previous year, and will result in tighter supplies.

Although this may pick prices off the floor, there is a debate within the industry on what is required to breathe life back into the potato sector and provide value for all stakeholders in the supply chain in the long term.

There are two options: firstly, focus on product to offer consumers more choice of quality, appealing and convenient ways of consuming potato products and stimulate demand.

Or secondly, simplify the offer by focusing on price by driving yield and slashing cost of production to make British potatoes more competitive in both the fresh and processed markets.

So what are the arguments for and against each?

Delegates at the recent Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association (Cupgra) annual conference heard from the chairman, followed by the proposed motion for product and the opposition favouring price.

Ed Garner of market research group Kantar Worldpanel said that a changing grocery market offers a glimpse of what could be the right direction for the potato sector.

He explained that discounters such as Lidl and Aldi are seeing huge growth in market share, particularly in fresh produce, with Aldi selling a 2kg pack of Maris Piper for just 29p.

At the other end of the scale premium retailers such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer are also making gains, while the middle of the road retailers such as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have lost about six market share points between them.

However, the demographic of Aldi and Lidl customers are now similar to the national average, with the discounters no longer just for the poorer consumers.

“Product or price? The cop out is to say it is horses for courses and both can coexist.

“However, another view is that the awkward British consumer wants both at the same time,” added Mr Garner.

However, he warned against commoditising the market, with little choice for consumers but standard white or red potatoes.

“It would be a slippery slope – it is how the discounters started, but they now offer much more.”

Chairman of the Green Pea Company (GPC) and Lincolnshire potato grower Geoff Calder believes that quality of product will always prevail.

Growing 10,000ha of peas each year for Birds Eye, the 240-strong GPC grower co-operative focuses on supplying a quality product to give Birdseye the power to demand a premium price for its branded product in the freezer aisle.

Mr Calder believes transferring this philosophy to potatoes could “unlock unexpected pockets of growth” and drive the sector out of the tough times, while looser, local co-operation could help growers manage costs.

“I propose my [potato] marketing vision of top quality, outstanding innovation and effective marketing, coupled with appropriate promotional activity is and will be the lifeblood of the UK potato industry going forward,” he said.

He added that to implement his vision the industry would need to develop varieties and products that deliver convenience, coupled with driving efficiency right through the supply chain.

Shining examples are McCain’s innovative products such as Micro Chips, Ready Baked Jackets and Wedges, while Albert Bartlett Rooster potatoes shows what can be achieved with good branding.

Backing Mr Calder’s motion was North Yorkshire-based grower Andrew Wilson, who has seen his business grow 370% over the past 10 years, driven by a focus on quality.

Mr Wilson, a tenant farmer on the Castle Howard estate, grows about 121ha for processing giant McCain and works on the premise that “good stuff always sells”.

He said this is the case even in a high-yield year when the market is flooded and added contracted customers would keep coming back year after year to growers that deliver the right spec.

To achieve consistent quality the farm has taken unproductive land out of production and where varieties don’t perform over a four-year period, they are discarded. It has also reinvested in machinery and storage capacity to maintain efficiency.

“We can’t afford boom and bust. You can change your business to affect quality, but you can affect [market] price,” said Mr Wilson.

© Jim Varney

Norfolk grower Tony Bambridge opposed the motion and believes price should be the focus if the British potato industry is going to be competitive once again.

Describing the “humble potato” as a good, simple foodstuff, he said spuds have to be kept cheap and affordable to the householder to ensure the crop competes with other carbohydrate sources such as rice and pasta.

“We all buy on price. We need consumers to be consuming our potatoes by the sack full, not just in small punnets,” added Mr Bambridge.

Focusing on product is partly to blame for the state of the sector, according to Mr Bambridge, loading the supply chain with unnecessary cost that adds nothing to the value of the product.

An example of this is the huge number of new varieties claiming to offer consumers better taste or texture, but don’t deliver over the tried and tested varieties such as Desiree or Maris Piper.

This has resulted in huge seed royalties, more lines in pack houses and processing plants and confusion for consumers in the shopping isles.

Mr Bambridge also pointed out that newer, lesser known varieties are also more difficult to sell on the open market if they don’t make prepack quality.

“We have also created a huge amount of cost through assurance, which has gone beyond the level of food security.

“We have just become too expensive because we haven’t focused on price and competitiveness,” said Mr Bambridge.

To address this, Mr Bambridge said growers need to get to grips with their cost of production, something that when he took part in a recent benchmarking exercise, all 10 participants struggled to do.

“We are now embarking on a journey of stripping extraneous costs out of our businesses and it is shocking how we lured them in there in the first place because we were pursuing product,” he explained.

East Sussex producer Bruce Kerr backed Mr Bambridge and called for the industry to bone out “gold plated” costs, increase yield and simplify its offer, with some major retailers running up to 33 lines, while a well-known discounter – seeing a huge increase in sales – has just six.

Focusing on fewer varieties with good potato cyst nematode (PCN) resistance, pushing yields, making efficient use of resources such as water and cutting red tape will all help deliver a better price for all, added Mr Kerr.

“Price is key and we wouldn’t do any of this [produce potatoes] if the price wasn’t right.

“It is more important than product, both in the short and the long term, to provide us with a sustainable industry going forward.”

Are you involved in the potato industry? Let us know which side of the debate you sit on by emailing Adam Clarke at adam.clarke@rbi.co.uk.