Fresh potatoes of New Zealand will be soon available in Vietnamese market. — Photo www.topnews.net.nz

HA NOI (Biz Hub) - New Zealand will export fresh potatoes to Viet Nam under a bilateral agreement signed recently after three years of negotiations, Potatoes New Zealand Inc. said on August 11.

CEO of Potatoes New Zealand Inc. Champak Mehta told Radio New Zealand that Viet Nam was a potential market because of its substantial demand for potatoes.

"We produce anywhere between 500,000 and 525,000 tonnes of potatoes in New Zealand every year. We export about 30,000 tonnes of that," he said.

"Seventy-five per cent of what we export goes to Fiji and the rest goes to various markets in Asia. Adding Viet Nam to that list is very promising, because we are counter-cyclical to the Viet Nam demand, so we can step in and fill a gap when they have a supply shortage for processing," Mehta said.

However, he said the projected export volumes to Viet Nam were not yet clear.

Potato exports help New Zealand earn about NZD100 million (more than US$65.4 million) every year. — VNS