EAST LANSING, Mich. — Potato growers in places like the Midwest are optimistic about Mexico becoming a much larger market for spuds grown in the U.S. Currently, fresh potatoes from the U.S. can only venture 16 miles south of the border under a decades long ban. 

However, by a unanimous vote, the Mexican Supreme Court has opened the door to fresh potatoes from the U.S. venturing into all parts of the country. The decision overturned previous rulings upholding the partial ban in the lower courts.

According to USDA, there could be resistance to the high court ruling but, if things go smoothly, up to $200 million in U.S potatoes could be filtering into Mexico in five years compared to $50 million presently. 

The projected increase would represent about one-fifth of what the U.S. now exports globally, said Kam Quarles, CEO of the Washington D.C. based National Potato Council. 

“It’s a huge deal,” he said.

The NPC represents the U.S. potato industry in all federal and international issues related to whole and processed potatoes, he said. 

Quarles said the Mexican government had already lowered the barriers to U.S. potatoes but that lasted for only three weeks because of a legal challenge posed by the potato industry in Mexico.

For potatoes to start rolling in from the U.S., Quarles said the Mexican government in response to its high court ruling must put back into place regulations established prior to the start of the court battle.

Quarles said that shouldn’t take long. However, he said delays are not unexpected.

“The fact this is a trade dispute that is over two decades long indicates there’s a lot of politics involved, and politics can always muddy things,” Quarles said.

Most of the potatoes to Mexico are expected to come from the west in states like Idaho, the leading producer of spuds in the U.S. In states like Michigan, opportunity rests more with markets created from within the country when more potatoes from other states cross the border.

“It’s a huge deal for the industry,” said Kelly Turner, Executive Director of Michigan Potatoes, an organization formed in 1970 to support the potato industry in the state in areas like promotion and research. Michigan is seventh in potato production with 1.7 billion pounds of potatoes harvested annually on 50,000 acres, according to USDA. Turner said 70-percent of the potatoes in the state are used in making potato chips at facilities primarily in eastern parts of the U.S. and Canada.

One of out of every five potato chips are from a potato grown in Michigan, she said. Turner said higher demand from Mexico would not impact suppliers of potato chip factories.

However, she said Michigan growers of potatoes ending up on kitchen tables would see greater demand from states to the east and south. “It would expand the current market we have,” Turner said.

Michigan is considered ideal for raising potatoes because of its sandy soil and higher water table from being surrounded by four Great Lakes.

Turner said production is pretty much equal in all parts of the state, including the Upper Peninsula.

“We’re surrounded by fresh water and that helps,” she said.

The second largest producer is Washington with 165,000 harvested acres while North Dakota and Wisconsin follow at more than 70,000 acres of potatoes in the ground, according to USDA.