McCain's buys fewer P.E.I. potatoes

McCain Foods Ltd. is cutting the volume of potatoes it buys from P.E.I. farmers by 20 to 30 per cent because of falling demand for french fries, Agriculture Minister George Webster said Tuesday.

The cut may mean the company based in Florenceville, N.B., will have to drop about 20 growers, he said.

"For sure, this is a big blow for those individual growers, and where do they go?" Webster said. Growers will have to find other markets or sell their potatoes on the fresh market, which is risky, he said.

"They'll have to do a lot of self-evaluation as to whether they're going to continue in the potato industry in P.E.I."

Webster said the problem is a lower demand for french fries and a tough economy.

McCain's makes about a third of all the frozen french fries produced in the world, according to the company's website.