U to 480 tonnes of Jersey Royal potatoes are due to be shipped each day to the mainland by Condor Ferries in the coming weeks as the export season gets underway.
The 10 weeks from mid-April is the main period for sending the Island’s premier home-grown product to market and Condor is working closely with The Jersey Royal Company to ensure supplies of these ‘Very Important Potatoes’ reach Portsmouth and onto retailers throughout the UK.
Steve Champion-Smith, Condor’s Freight Director, said: “Condor ships 80% of all goods consumed on the Islands each year and the export market is equally important. We dedicate a great deal of manpower and resources to supporting this operation and it is very encouraging to see the season for Jersey Royals start so promisingly.”
“Three weeks in and we are transporting around 30 tonnes each day. This will rise to closer to 500 tonnes or around 40 trailers per night. Last year we carried a huge 39,000 tonnes of potatoes in total over the season.”
Mike Renouard, Director of The Jersey Royal Company, confirmed he was looking forward to a plentiful harvest and export market in 2020.
“The wet winter has meant a slightly later start than usual, but we believe this year’s crop is going to be good. We also know that panic buying on the mainland has meant the UK supply has been partially exhausted, so the main retailers are keen to see plentiful stocks of Jersey Royals on their shelves.”
Condor provides twice daily freight services to the UK from Jersey using Clipper and Goodwill.
