LANSING, Mich. – Another country has opened its doors to potatoes from Michigan and nearly a dozen other states.

Expanded market access to South Korea was called a “landmark trade achievement” by the National Potato Council (NPC).

According to NPC, it took 19 years for the change to come about in a country that previously accepted table stock and chipping potatoes from U.S. growers only from Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

“Although this process began in 2007, our industry and government partners never wavered in their commitment to delivering this result for American growers,” said Brett Jensen, NPC vice president of trade affairs.

The other states given access to the South Korean market for table stock and chipping potatoes are Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Maine, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska and California.

According to a 2024 study from Michigan State University, expanded access to South Korea will increase total U.S. potato exports by as much as 10 percent or more. Overall, Michigan is eighth in the nation in potato production and first in the number of chipping potatoes coming out of the state.

Kelly Turner, executive director of the Michigan Potato Industry Commission, said such an increase in current U.S. potato exports would be “fairly significant” and comes at a critical moment in the industry.

Turner said there could be enough U.S. potatoes going to South Korea to reduce or even solve problems occurring periodically the past few years with oversupply, which has caused prices to fall enough that many U.S. producers operate in the red.

Contributing to the red ink are higher input costs.

“Growers, now, are providing potatoes at a significant loss. Opening up an additional global market provides an outlet for any sort of additional potatoes that can’t be consumed here in the U.S.,” she said.

The American Farm Bureau Federation called the financial losses currently faced by U.S. potato growers as “extreme” but one that can be alleviated some by the opening of a new market.

Turner said it’s too early to predict the impact access to South Korea will have in Michigan, where potatoes contribute over $2.5 billion annually to the state’s economy. She said the impact will depend on how many farmers choose to become suppliers to the foreign country.

Turner said she also hasn’t seen the rules and regulations farmers will have to follow for their potatoes to enter South Korea, something that could encourage or discourage growers from wanting to take part.

“Until we see what that looks like, we won’t even know who would be interested in supplying those potatoes from Michigan, if anyone,” she said.

Turner said potato growers in states given access to South Korea could also benefit if Idaho, Washington and Oregon start exporting more potatoes to the country than what they’re currently shipping to try to fill the void themselves. 

That would leave less room for exports to South Korea from the other states but also fewer potatoes from Idaho, Washington and Oregon growers elsewhere must compete with in their respective markets, she said.

According to the NPC, fresh potato exports from the U.S. to South Korea currently exceed $150 million. Idaho, Washington and Oregon together produce about 60 percent of the potatoes raised nationwide.