P.E.I. farmers are on day five into a suspension of trade for their potatoes into the U.S. market. This means five days of last sales for large farms and family farms alike. The suspension was put in place on Monday by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Marie-Claude Bibeau, the Agriculture Minister said it was done to prevent the Americans from doing the same thing, a move that could be more difficult to reverse.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is worried about the discovery of potato warts in two P.E.I. fields in October. That is what farmers heard from the CFIA last Friday evening hinting the suspension was coming.
This is a very busy time of year for potato sales, with American Thanksgiving, this week, and Christmas soon approaching. Keisha Rose Topic, a potato farmer, as well as operating a potato packer said “as things shut we’re losing money day by day,” Rose Topic’s immediate concerns are on her packing facility which currently runs two shifts and employs 33. She explains that one of those shifts will have to be dropped if the border remains closed.
For more information about the source click HERE