AUSTRALIA | AUSVEG has signed on as a Platinum Sustaining Partner of the World Potato Congress, as part of its ongoing commitment and duty to represent Australia’s potato industry and growers at the highest levels on the international stage.
AUSVEG is the prescribed Peak Industry Body for Australia’s potato, onion, and vegetable industry. Its core mission includes representing the interests of potato, vegetable, and onion growers through advocacy to the highest levels of government and fostering the adoption of productivity-enhancing innovation that promotes a vibrant and sustainable industry.
“A key part of our role as the prescribed Peak Industry Body representing the Australian potato industry is ensuring growers are aware of and have opportunities to access the latest innovations, breakthroughs and research, both within Australia and internationally,” said AUSVEG CEO Michael Coote.
“We are proud to join with the World Potato Congress as a Platinum Partner as we lead the way in ensuring Australian growers benefit from the wealth of knowledge and innovation that exists in the global potato industry, and that the potato sector internationally can, in-turn, gain insights and inspiration from the world-class practices employed in Australia.”
Ahead of the 13th World Potato Congress 2026 in Kenya, the partnership with the World Potato Congress affirms AUSVEG’s ongoing commitment to leading local and global collaboration and productivity enhancements in the potato industry through the sharing of knowledge and innovation while ensuring Australia’s potato growers are represented in international and domestic forums at the highest levels.
“Having AUSVEG join as a Platinum Sustaining Partner of the World Potato Congress is an important development. This links the potato growers they represent to the international potato community,” said World Potato Congress President Peter VanderZaag.
“The Platinum Partnership is a unique partnership that partially supports delegates from Global South Countries to attend the biennial Congress event. These delegates represent regions for which potatoes are key to food security and development, and we applaud AUSVEG in recognising the needs of the global potato community in choosing this level of Partnership.”
Over 3,600 vegetable, potato and onion producers account for 3.8 million tonnes of vegetable production worth AUD 5.7 billion in farmgate value annually. This includes 1.5 million tonnes of annual potato production, worth more than AUD 1.1 billion, making potatoes the largest crop produced in the Australian vegetable industry by volume and value.
AUSVEG also partners with the International Fresh Produce Association Australia-New Zealand (IFPA-ANZ) to host Hort Connections, the largest horticulture conference in the Southern Hemisphere.
AUSVEG looked forward to continuing to strengthen ties and collaboration with the World Potato Congress as it advances its shared objectives of promoting a thriving potato sector in Australia and internationally.
