How we are organised

Potatoes New Zealand is an unincorporated organisation, which means we have no legal status. However, we function by having a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Horticulture NZ (which is incorporated) to operate in co-operation with them.

View our Memorandum of Understanding.

The Potatoes New Zealand Board is comprised of eight product group representatives that, according to our Operational Rules and Procedures, must be made up of specific proportions of seed, table and process potato growers.

Our Groups

The business of Potatoes New Zealand is carried out by six groups that are made up of Board representatives (who are growers), industry representatives and expert advisors. These focus on six work streams: Export Market Development; Promotion; Research & Development Investment; Leadership and Training, Seed Potato Certification Authority; and Communication with growers and the wider industry. View our organisational structure chart.

Export Market Development Group
This group is responsible for identifying and developing new export market opportunities for our potato industry, and for maintaining access to current ones. Because many countries have phytosanitary barriers that prevent fresh potatoes being imported, negotiating access for fresh potatoes is difficult - even when there is strong demand.

Each year the Export Market Development Group approves a programme of work to investigate and assist the development of new markets for fresh potatoes. It also invests in market research and the generic promotion of New Zealand's fresh potato industry. An export market development coordinator and market access advisor, Shaun Slattery, helps us with our work.

More information about New Zealand's export markets.

Promotion Group
This group is responsible for promoting potatoes (both fresh and processed) to consumers, teachers, and the hospitality industry. Its ultimate objective is to increase, or at least maintain, the amount of potatoes New Zealanders eat.

The Promotion Group has many activities, including overseeing the The Chip Group, which is a separate industry group established to lower the fat and salt content of hot chips and provide some consistency across how this popular product is sold. The group - advised by food, marketing and education consultant Glenda Gourley - undertakes research into New Zealanders' potato consumption habits to inform its strategies. The group played a key part in Potatoes New Zealand's energetic marketing around 2008's United Nations International Year of the Potato.

It has won several public relations industry awards for its work including:

• 2010 IABC Gold Quill Awards - a prestigious international award from the International Association of Business Communicators for its work around the 2009 World Potato Congress 

• 2010 Food Industry Awards - Glenda Gourley, food and education consultant, won the 'Excellence in Leadership Award'. The Chip Group came runner up at the same awards.

• 2009 PRINZ Awards - a New Zealand award for its work around the 2008 International Year of the Potato.

Potato Research & Development Investment Group
This group is responsible for funding research and development for the good of the industry. Often it relates to pest control - including psyllid. But the group also funds research to improve specific aspects of potatoes, such as boosting nutritional content. It has also invested in bringing overseas experts to New Zealand for grower seminars and farm visits.

Industry research is funded by a compulsory levy on growers of 0.2%. This raises around $290,000 per annum, which the Potato Industry Research and Development Investment Group allocates to various projects. Those grower levies are responsible for leveraging a significant government investment (around $700,000 a year) that is directed into research to benefit our potato industry.

Psyllid Working Group
Currently, we also have the Psyllid Working Group, which is operating as a subcommittee of the Research and Development Investment Group. The Psyllid Working Group is responsible for coordinating the potato industry's response to the pest, which was first discovered in 2006 and is threatening the viability of our industry. The group was established in 2009 in response to the outbreak in the 2008/09 growing season, which cost industry an estimated $47-$57m. It is hoped the group's efforts will bring the pest under control, so it will not be needed in the long-term. You can find out more about how Potatoes New Zealand is leading the response to pysllid and more information from Dr Stephen Ogden who leads this work.

Leadership and Training Group
This is a new group, established in 2010, which is responsible for assisting with the development of leaders in the potato industry, and encouraging potential leaders to participate in appropriate training and development opportunities.

New Zealand Seed Potato Certification Authority
Potatoes New Zealand runs the New Zealand Seed Potato Certification Authority, which is charged with ensuring all potatoes grown in New Zealand comply with breed specifications (so they are the breed they say they are) and are disease-free within specified tolerances. For more information on seed potato certification.

Communication Group
It is this group's responsibility to improve communication across the committees, and communicate their findings and deliberations to growers and the industry. This group also implements Potatoes New Zealand's communication strategy and reviews that strategy each year.