January 2020 - 36

The Potato Association of America mission statement: The PAA and
its allied associations must strongly support the private sector through
Extension, research and commercialization efforts aimed at enhancing
the role of the potato as the premier food source for the 21st century.
Guatemalan growers seek
oblong alternatives
By Peter Joyce
Potato Association of America
G
uatemala might be called the " The Land of the
Eternal Spring " by the tourist industry thanks to its
cool, pleasant temperatures and soft rain. The potato
industry, however, might want
to
call the Central American
nation " The Land of Oblong
Potatoes.
Guatemala produces over
540,000 metric tons (MT) of
tablestock and export potatoes
that go primarily to neighboring
El Salvador, which produces
very few potatoes of its own. On
average, residents of Guatemala
(population 17 million) and El
Salvador (just more than six
million), consume 50 pounds
of
potatoes
per
year.
That's
fewer potatoes total than U.S.
residents, but still more than
the 33 pounds per year of fresh
potatoes the average American
consumes.
Although Guatemala has a
majority of indigenous peoples,
in contrast to Peru, about 80% of
their potatoes are a variety called
Loman. (Even Russet Burbank
has only an 18% market share in
the U.S.)
Guatemala is less than 1%. Yields have started to decline, and
many growers will now plant about 40 cwt per acre instead of
20 cwt per acre to make up for the decline in yields.
Osman Cifuentes, from the Guatemalan Institute of Science
and Agricultural Technology (ICTA), has been working
for a quarter-century to find
alternatives to Loman. Working
with Cifuentes, Potatoes USA
began sending U.S. varieties for
trials in 2016.
Change
comes
slowly
in
Guatemala, as there are over
70,000 potato producers in the
country, which averages to less
than three-quarters an acre per
producer.
OBLONG TUBERS TOP
WANT LIST
How much do Guatemalans
love their Loman potatoes?
Well, the market is a good place
for an unsentimental view.
The Guatemalan Ministry of
Agriculture, Cattle and Food
(MAGA) publishes weekly prices
from the Terminal Market
in
Osman Cifuentes explaining different varieties at the ICTA
harvest in September 2019.
Loman, a Dutch variety released in 1932, was introduced
to Guatemala most likely in the late 1950s. Loman has great
virus resistance, good yields, but has no late blight resistance.
Because Guatemala is the Land of Eternal Spring, late blight
is a dominant disease, as cool, wet weather is optimal for
late blight. Loman requires heavy spraying of fungicides to
produce a crop. If no fungicides were used with Loman, there
would be no harvest.
Loman has been grown in Guatemala with very little renewal
from certified seed potatoes. Use of certified seed potatoes in
36
Spudman.com
Guatemala City at their website
at (precios.maga.gob.gt). This is
the wholesale market for most
produce found in the country.
As of Oct. 15, 2019, the price of
washed Loman was $23.87/$20.00/$12.90 for large/medium/
small sized tubers per cwt, using the exchange rate of 7.75
Quetzales to $1. For washed round tubers, the price was $15.40
for large size. (MAGA does not include medium or small sizes
for round potatoes, as not many are sold.) Large Loman tubers
sold for 1.55 times the price of round white potatoes the week
of Oct. 17, 2019 ($23.87/$15.40). There is a smaller - and thus
far untrackable - price drop for other varieties that are not as
oblong as Loman. That is how Loman maintains its dominant
market share in Guatemala.
http://precios.maga.gob.gt http://www.Spudman.com
January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2020
