Potatoes focus of border dispute

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FLORENCEVILLE, N.B. – Truck drivers in New Brunswick are beginning to balk at the chance to ship potatoes, now that U.S. Customs has begun to turn back some of the shipments that have already been approved by Canadian inspectors. That costs an estimated $145 per shipment, according to the New Brunswick Potato Board.

The focus at the border could be the result of lobbying efforts in Maine and Idaho, where spud farmers have been lobbying to restrict Canadian shipments.

“It’s the age-old world of the potato war,” says Ralph Boyd, president of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association.

“There’s no guarantees now that you’re going to be able to move them. It’s something that the agricultural interests on both sides of the border have to resolve. n

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