An increase in the levels of testing for ring rot disease in potatoes imported from Britain has been demanded by the Irish Farmers' Association following discovery of the disease in Wales.
Ireland is free of ring rot, which is described as the "foot-and-mouth of potatoes", and this is the first time it has been identified in Britain. The Department of Agriculture said that it had contingency plans in place in the event of any outbreak here. It emphasised that it tests regularly for ring rot both in the native crop and in imported potatoes. Up to 50,000 tonnes of Maris Piper potatoes are imported annually from Britain for the chip shop trade here.
Dutch seed potatoes are suspected of causing the UK outbreak.