Potatoes USA received USD4,977,912 in USDA Market Access Program (MAP) funding to be utilized for the marketing and promotion of U.S. potatoes and products in targeted international markets.

Potatoes USA applied to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) for these funds and is pleased to receive a USD191,465 increase over what was received the prior year. These funds will be utilized during the Potatoes USA fiscal year starting July 1, 2019 and will be supported with assessment dollars collected by Potatoes USA.

The Potatoes USA international marketing programs are carried out in over 20 countries in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. The programs support the export of frozen potato products, dehydrated potatoes, fresh table-stock potatoes, fresh chipping potatoes and seed potatoes. The programs target the decision makers in the foodservice, retail and food manufacturing sectors as well as consumers and growers in the case of seed potatoes. The programs are designed to increase demand for potatoes in the market as well as expand and protect U.S. market share.

The value of U.S. potato exports grew by 2% in the July 2017 – June 2018 marketing year to a record USD1.8bn.