Part of the reason for the stagnation in potato consumption is a shift in eating patterns brought about by a globalised world.
"There is no doubt that rice and pasta have eroded the potato's market share," Robbie says. "It has occurred mainly due to multi-culturalism in Australia and, in the case of rice, the influx of cuisine from the Sub-continent and Asia in the past 20 years."
However, this is not the only reason.
"Little or no promotion of the benefits of eating potatoes has been seen in South Australia or nationally for decades," Robbie explains.
She points out that potatoes contain more Vitamin C than oranges and contain more nutrition that pasta or rice. Potatoes have, however, been the victim of much bad publicity. This mostly related, not to the fresh potato itself, but the ways in which it is eaten - with lots of butter and cheese for example-or the way in which it is processed.
"Potatoes are very low in saturated fats. In fact, most people accept that a boiled potato has 0 grams of fat. The potato needs to be promoted in a far more desirable and sophisticated way. The surge in upmarket cooking programs augurs well for this to occur."
Robbie says a national promotional program is a logical and appropriate step.
"Collaboration across states is very desirable to unite the industry. A generic promotion would reinforce the brand specific marketing being done by individual companies"
At this stage any such plan is only an idea and would require extensive consultation with the industry stakeholders before it could become reality. If it was to be realised, any such plan would require considerable investment from the industry and would likely be paid for via a specific marketing levy, combined state-by-state. It could also be a nationally collected levy similar to the one in place for research and development.
"Though this is currently only conceptual," Robbie says, "the industry is requesting action to increase demand at the customer end of the market. It is a strategic imperative nationally and, as a peak industry body, we must be responsive. In Australia such generic campaigns have had outstanding results in many industries, including red meat, truss tomatoes, bananas and mushrooms."
“As South Australia is the biggest producer of potatoes in Australia and supplies 80% of the national fresh washed market, it makes sense for us to drive this campaign for the industry,” she added.
Potatoes South Australia Incorporated is the peak industry body for the potato industry and represents the interests of all stakeholders in the value chain.
