Sr. Rafael Hernández, Regional President of the Coordination of Gran Canaria Farmers and Ranchers (COAG) recently visited the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Loughgall to see the potato breeding programme in action.
![Rafael Hernández (centre) and family with Jim McCreight (PPNI Ltd). Rafael Hernández (centre) and family with Jim McCreight (PPNI Ltd).](https://www.afbini.gov.uk/sites/afbini.gov.uk/files/styles/inline/public/images/%5Bcurrent-domain%3Amachine-name%5D/news/drupal_16.jpg?itok=9rNf472t×tamp=1453465861)
Sr. Hernández is evaluating AFBI potato varieties in Gran Canaria for supply to the local Spar supermarket chain which has over 250 branches on the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands are an important market for Northern Ireland seed potatoes as Northern Ireland is one of only three countries able to comply with the islands’ rigorous phytosanitary regulations. The islands are free from several important pests and diseases which are endemic on the European mainland. The islands continue to prefer good eating quality varieties with high dry matter content and old established varieties such as King Edward and Kerr’s Pink still constitute the majority of the seed exports from Northern Ireland.
The AFBI varieties Richhill and Sunset have established markets in Gran Canaria and exports are increasing as seed becomes available. Of the newer AFBI varieties that Sr. Hernández has evaluated, Rosegarden has shown promise for the local ware trade. Rosegarden is a good eating quality variety similar to Kerr’s Pink and suits local tastes.
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