Irish potatoes are being exported for the first time in decades following a bumper harvest and poor growing conditions over most of Europe, the Teagasc National Potato seminar in Carlow heard yesterday.

Barry Delany, a Department of Agriculture inspector said potatoes had already been exported to many places in the EU and special plant health inspections were now being carried out to meet the requirements for the Russian market.

He said it was expected up to 16,000 tonnes of Irish "ware" or eating potatoes would go to Russia and some of the other Eastern European states which had poor harvests because of bad weather.

"While Ireland has had a long tradition of exporting seed potatoes very few people can remember the last time Ireland exported ware potatoes and this is a novel development," he said.