вЂњWe are bringing additional information, we have an ongoing conversation, a technical conversation, with them to reassure them to reopen the market for fresh potatoes,вЂќ she said.

that the potatoes would be banned and so she needed to take pre-emptive steps. She said she had been told by her counterpart in the U.S.

But Bibeau responded to some of its contents in an interview with the Star, saying PEI potato exports are her вЂњNumber one top priorityвЂќ and defending her approach as sound. remains in place.Дonald says that the Potato Board has received no response yet to their letter. Ten weeks later, both Bibeau and the potato board agree that the scientific argument that the potatoes are safe is airtight (indeed, those potatoes continue to be consumed across Canada). in an attempt to get them to sign off on a resumption of trading. Department of Agriculture followed by issuing a customs order forbidding PEI potatoes from entering the country.Д«ecause fresh or processed potatoes destined for peopleвЂ™s tables - as opposed to seed potatoes that would be planted in the ground - pose no threat to humans or crops, Bibeau and her department have been pursuing a strategy of presenting the scientific and technical arguments to the U.S. would ban entry of Canadian potatoes altogether and that getting such a ban lifted would be difficult, Bibeau suspended export permissions to the U.S. The issue arose in November, when potato wart, a fungus that poses no threat to human health but can disfigure potatoes and make them hard to sell (and which lives in soil for decades), was discovered at two fields in PEI. They suggest that would make the matter a political hot potato to be solved quickly. Potato board general manager Greg Donald and PEI Premier Dennis King told the Star theyвЂ™d welcome a trade fight, in which Canada could implement retaliatory import bans and launch a legal challenge. Trade Minister Mary Ng and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were copied on the letter, alongside a host of provincial and federal officials. вЂњTrade advocacy - rather than science - now seems to be the path that CFIA is suggesting.вЂќ вЂњIt is evident from reports from the (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) staff involved in technical discussions with the United States that no timelines have been established for a resolution, nor have they even obtained clarity on what вЂscienceвЂ™ is required in order to resume shipments,вЂќ the letter says. 20, said BibeauвЂ™s approach - presenting the science to Americans in hopes exports will resume - has proved ineffective, and calls for an immediate shift in tactics.

Since then, the potato board estimates $120 million in potential revenue has been lost, and another growing season is jeopardized as the suspension drags on. after the fungus was found in two fields in November 2021.

In a harshly worded letter sent last week to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and obtained by the Star, the Prince Edward Island Potato Board blasted her for declaring the province вЂњinfestedвЂќ with potato wart and suspending potato shipments to the U.S. Privately, in a letter to government officials, theyвЂ™re placing some of the blame for the potato disaster on the federal governmentвЂ™s Ministry of Agriculture. WASHINGTON-Prince Edward Island potato farmers are warning Americans in advertisements that a вЂњ SpudpocalypseвЂќ is nigh.

Pyramid potato wart fish inkbook