New varieties of Peruvian potatoes would displace imported ones in chicken shops

Within the framework of Potato Day, commemorated on May 31, two new options for this tuber are being announced for the preparation, mainly, of French fries and which will be a sales option for poultry businessmen, who usually use imported potatoes.

cip tarikary —which in Quechua means the encounter of man with the potato— and Cip Mendocita, in honor of its researcher, will be the names of the new varieties that will be launched on the market at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2024, after completing compliance with all the requirements established by the seed law of Peru.

Alejandro Mendoza Aguilar, an agronomist with a master’s degree in Plant Genetic Improvement, is the principal investigator of these new types of potatoes, which were discovered two years ago and have undergone harvest evaluation in 12 places in Huánuco. Now, they hope to be able to boost industrialization.

Recently, Arequipa celebrated Potato Day. Photo: Wilder Pari/La República – Video: Wilder Pari/La República

Taking into account that the demand for grilled chicken is on the rise and that “the star on the plate is the potato”, Mendoza told La República it was necessary to select and generate new varieties for this growing market.

cheaper potatoes

Per year, Peru imports around 250,000 tons of potatoes, of which 33,000 are used for fresh consumption and polleríasaccording to a report by CITE Papa y Cultivos Andinos.

In this sense, Tarikary and Mendocita, apart from complying with the required requirementsThey have lower prices compared to the pre-fried and frozen foreign ones. “An imported potato is S/10 per kilo, while these would cost a maximum between S/5 and S/6, with a good profit for Peruvian producers and processors,” Mendoza explains.

Both varieties have a purple and red skin, which allows them to be stored for more than two weeks, and a yellow flesh, which provides them with more vitamin D and nutrients than those contained in the White potato.

At a nutritional level, they have low sugar, which validates them for industrial use and processing because when they are fried they do not consume oil and retain a crunchy texture.

For the cultivation process, costs are also expected to drop due to the favorable yield of the island guano, which is between S/50 and S/60, as a replacement for the common fertilizerswhose price is S/160.

String potatoes and chips

The new varieties of this tuber have various uses, they can be used for flakes, stuffed potatoes, dried potatoes, string potatoes and potatoes for fresh consumption, which increases its range of cultivation and sales expectations.

Thus, for the preparation of string potatoesthe researcher points out that the costs, which They are usually S/16 per kilo, they would be around S/8.

In this line, they have a wide adaptation, from 200 to 3,500 meters above sea level on the coast.

make seed

Mendoza is clear that it must have a consistent planting to start selling both in Lima and in regions. Thus, the plan for this 2023 is to harvest between 30,000 and 40,000 kilos, and plans to carry out frying tests with the pollerías from San Martín, Iquitos, Ucayali, Huánuco and Pasco to program the harvests based on what the locals require.

The specialist’s career is extensive, in 1990 he was director of the Canchán Experimental Station and together with genetic material from the International Potato Center he identified four varieties (canchán, amaryllis, maría bonita and serranita) that managed to meet a significant demand in recent years. 30 years.

keys

Exports. In the first quarter of the year, a total of US$542,614 was exported in potatoes. 81% was in flakes and thread, while 19% in fresh or refrigerated presentation.

Varieties. This year, thanks to the International Potato Center (CIP) and the Poderosa mining company, three new varieties of potatoes will be launched: powerful crispy, powerful skirt and powerful watia.