A spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the country has a large stock of potatoes.

The popularity of potatoes in the Ukraine is on the decline and according to experts, due to the lack of production infrastructure in the country the potato harvest will continue to rot in local warehouses.

According to local analysts nearly 95 per cent of the Ukrainian potato is grown on private farms, and only few companies are producing it on an industrial scale.

The majority of potatoes are imported to the country from Poland and Egypt and this year has seen a rise - four times the volume of frozen potatoes have been imported than in the past. This is linked to the rapid development of fast food restaurants in the country.