The king of potatoes

"Every potato variety in existence has been in the feed trough (for cattle) at one time or another.” A statement that refers to Bintje – which was later reinvented – but certainly also applies to the Spunta. This “king of potatoes” is grown in Drenthe, at grower J. Oldenburger's farm and enters the variety list in 1969. Breeders initially saw little value in the cross between the Béa variety (a variety bred by ZPC) and the USDA 96-56 variety. This is mainly because of the huge length of the tuber. But Hettema Zonen director Dirk Jan Meijer sees opportunities abroad. Because of his efforts, Dirk Jan acquires a nickname across the borders: Mr Spunta.

The Spunta served as the mainstay of Hettema Zonen for many years, partly thanks to the plant breeders' rights, introduced in 1967. Hettema Zonen exported the Spunta mainly to Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon and Egypt. When it became an open variety in 1998, Spunta experienced another growth spurt. Because now other trading companies can also export the Spunta. ZPC, for instance, took the variety to Algeria, where Hettema is not active. As of 2001, Spunta is considered the most exported seed potato variety from the Netherlands.