Your customers can tell the difference

Discover how North Carolina’s growing conditions produce the best quality sweetpotatoes in the world.

About Sweetpotatoes

Founded in 1961, the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission is a non-for-profit corporation made up of over 300 sweetpotato producers, along with the packers and business associates that support them.  NCSPC is committed to supporting its growers and increasing sweetpotato consumption through education, promotional activities, research, and honourable horticultural practices among its producers.

Health Benefits

Recipes

Distributors

Since six sweetpotato farmers established the commission over sixty years ago, it has supported its growers and maintained North Carolina as the No. 1 sweetpotato producing state in the United States since 1971.

Retail insights

Following our harvest in 2023, we conducted a landmark, large scale research campaign across several European markets. The purpose was to understand shoppers’ behaviours and the size of the sweetpotato market in each country.

We are working closely with our farmers and producers to deliver the highest quality sweetpotatoes across the market, and also with buyers to establish promotional programmes in order to support strong sales that balance customer value and profitability for our members.

Sweetpotato sales in the UK are worth £71m and growing at 8.6%,[1] €79m in France growing at 17%,[2] and €63m in Germany.[3]

55% of sweetpotato shoppers in the UK chose the vegetable as a healthier alternative to white potatoes.[4]

Despite effects from the cost-of-living crisis, 24% of consumers across the UK are buying more sweetpotatoes compared to previous years.[5]

The percentage of households buying sweetpotatoes also varies from 42% in the UK[6] to 34% in France[7] and 22% in Germany[8].

[1] Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 6th August 2023

[2] Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 9th July 2023

[3] Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 9th July 2023

[4] TRKR, October 2023, 255 sweetpotato shoppers in the UK

[5] TRKR, October 2023, 255 sweetpotato shoppers in the UK

[6] Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 6th August 2023

[7] Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 9th July 2023

[8] Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 9th July 2023

Farming process

Starting the journey

Unlike Irish or white potatoes, the sweetpotato story doesn’t start with seeds. Instead, they are grown from cuttings called sprouts or slips. Some farmers start the sprouts in a greenhouse, while others grow sprouts by “bedding” sweetpotatoes in March.

Transplanting for success

Come April, May and June, the sprouts are cut and then planted into one of the 34,000 hectares of North Carolina sweetpotato fields. Farmers carefully relocate the sprouts to ensure optimal growth conditions – this is known as transplanting.

Growing up

Sweetpotatoes need around 90-120 frost-free days to grow and mature. They grow underground in the fertile and nutrient-dense North Carolina soil.

Harvesting time

As the calendar turns to August, the sweetpotato harvest begins. Tractors gently flip the sweetpotatoes onto the surface before they’re harvested by hand to protect their delicate skin. The harvested sweetpotatoes are then graded and sorted based on their size.

The storing process

To ensure a year-round supply of sweetpotatoes, North Carolina State University developed an innovative ventilation system so farmers can store sweetpotatoes for up to 12 months.

Curing for quality

When the sweetpotatoes are ready to be exported, they’re transferred to a special room where they are cured for three to five days at 30 centigrade and high humidity.

This essentially wakes the sweetpotato back up, tightening the skin and enabling the starch to turn to sugar. If left untreated, they would turn green and the taste would be affected.

Exporting across Europe

The cured sweetpotatoes are then cleaned and exported by shipping container. It takes 14 days for the sweetpotatoes to arrive in Rotterdam before continuing their journey to restaurants, supermarkets, and plates across Europe.

Starting the journey

Unlike Irish or white potatoes, the sweetpotato story doesn’t start with seeds. Instead, they are grown from cuttings called sprouts or slips. Some farmers start the sprouts in a greenhouse, while others grow sprouts by “bedding” sweetpotatoes in March.

Transplanting for success

Come April, May and June, the sprouts are cut and then planted into one of the 34,000 hectares of North Carolina sweetpotato fields. Farmers carefully relocate the sprouts to ensure optimal growth conditions – this is known as transplanting.

Growing up

Sweetpotatoes need around 90-120 frost-free days to grow and mature. They grow underground in the fertile and nutrient-dense North Carolina soil.

Harvesting time

As the calendar turns to August, the sweetpotato harvest begins. Tractors gently flip the sweetpotatoes onto the surface before they’re harvested by hand to protect their delicate skin. The harvested sweetpotatoes are then graded and sorted based on their size.

The storing process

To ensure a year-round supply of sweetpotatoes, North Carolina State University developed an innovative ventilation system so farmers can store sweetpotatoes for up to 12 months.

Curing for quality

When the sweetpotatoes are ready to be exported, they’re transferred to a special room where they are cured for three to five days at 30 centigrade and high humidity.

This essentially wakes the sweetpotato back up, tightening the skin and enabling the starch to turn to sugar. If left untreated, they would turn green and the taste would be affected.

Exporting across Europe

The cured sweetpotatoes are then cleaned and exported by shipping container. It takes 14 days for the sweetpotatoes to arrive in Rotterdam before continuing their journey to restaurants, supermarkets, and plates across Europe.

Learn more

European Distribution

We have a number of trusted suppliers who have been exporting sweetpotatoes to Europe for the past 30 years. Utilising our innovative curing and storing process developed by North Carolina State University, we can ensure a year-round supply of the highest quality sweetpotatoes. Our efficient distribution and shipping system ensures a streamlined process for delivering the sweetpotatoes to Europe, ready to be enjoyed by consumers in farm fresh condition.