POTATO growers in La Trinidad, Benguet, will make another attempt to convince a snack food manufacturer to use their produce in making potato chips.

Liwayway Marketing Corporation, which produces several lines of snack items under the Oishi brand, had rejected the first potato samples from La Trinidad because their water content was too high, said Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan, who is helping the growers market their harvest.

Fongwan said the growers have sent a new batch of samples to Liwayway Marketing.

La Trinidad has been growing the Calwhite, Cherokee, and Conestog varieties of potato from Canada, which are only good for table consumption and do not meet standards set by global corporations. 

The latest samples sent to Liwayway Marketing were grown for 120 days, 20 days longer than the previous batch.

Another variety, Connect from Holland, will also be sent to the company, Fongwan said.

He said the province has expanded its market for potatoes to stay economically viable especially when the Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) is implemented in 2016. 

The Canadian and Holland varieties are also grown at pilot farms in Atok, Buguias and Kibungan. 

Fongwan urged the Benguet State University to do more research on different potato varieties to help the province break into the world market.