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The “hot chip crisis” was a December 2022 warning about a possible pre-Christmas shortage—not evidence of a potato shortage continuing in 2026. Tony Galati’s proposed Myalup processing operation was a longer-term response: the schedule reported at the time would not have supplied chips for Christmas 2022. Later reporting confirms Spuddies chips were sold at Spudshed, but also says the factory operated without a required licence and that the company was fined in 2026.
What was the hot chip crisis?
On 7 December 2022, PerthNow reported that severe east-coast weather had damaged farms and delayed planting, while transport delays and higher fertiliser costs added pressure. The article warned of a risk to frozen-chip supplies before Christmas. It also described pressure on potato products and frozen potatoes from international supply conditions. These were the circumstances reported at the time, not a current assessment of Australian supply.
The report did not provide a named statistical series quantifying the shortage, its scale or its total economic impact. It therefore supports describing a reported supply risk, not assigning a national shortfall in tonnes, a percentage increase in prices or a measured effect on consumers.
What did Tony Galati propose?
PerthNow reported that Tony Galati, founder of Spudshed, had brought forward a longer-standing plan to add potato-crisp and frozen-chip processing to his horticulture and retail business. Machinery was being installed at his Myalup farm. The dates below were projections reported in December 2022, not proof that production began on schedule.
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| Product or milestone | Timing projected in the 2022 report | What the report established |
|---|---|---|
| Potato crisps | Around February or March | Expected production timing, not confirmation of launch. |
| Frozen chips | Around July or August | Expected production timing, not confirmation of launch. |
| Full production | “By this time next year” | Galati’s reported projection; not a verified outcome. |
The immediate limitation was timing: the 2022 report said the Myalup plan would not resolve the shortage risk for Christmas that year. It did not publish production volumes, costs or market share, so the plan’s potential contribution to overall supply cannot be quantified from that account.
Why did Galati argue for local processing?
As quoted by PerthNow, Galati objected to bringing potato products from the eastern states: “Bringing potato products to WA from the eastern states is ‘just ludicrous’.” He cited fuel use and argued, “We’ve got to start producing here in our own backyard.” These were his arguments for local production, not a published comparison of freight costs or emissions.
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The potential trade-off is straightforward, but the 2022 report did not provide the figures needed to rank the options. Local processing could reduce reliance on long-distance transport for some products, while local farms and factories would still face their own production, weather and capacity constraints. Interstate or imported frozen product can draw on supply outside WA, but depends on freight and availability elsewhere. The source offered no comparable cost, output or market-share data, nor evidence that local output would be available at the volume or timing hospitality businesses need.
Galati also suggested restaurants and pubs could make chips from fresh local potatoes. PerthNow reported that he acknowledged the labour involved. Fresh-potato preparation is therefore an alternative he raised, not an equivalent ready-to-fry product or a labour-free fix.
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What happened to the Myalup operation?
ABC News reported on 4 June 2026, with an update on 8 June, that ABV Food Processing, part of the Galati Group, pleaded guilty to breaches involving setting up and operating a Spuddies potato-chip factory at Myalup without the required licence. The Bunbury Magistrates Court imposed a $20,000 fine. ABC reported that the company also admitted dumping non-oily chip-making waste at the site without a licence; the court found no environmental damage had occurred.
Spuddies sales and licensing, as reported in June 2026
ABC reported that Spuddies chips were created in April 2024 and sold at Spudshed stores across WA. The factory equipment installed between November 2023 and April 2024 included a peeler, blancher, fryer, conveyor belt and portioning and bagging equipment. In June 2024, the company told the department production had begun.
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ABC said a licence application was received in November and withdrawn the following May. At the time of its June 2026 report, another application had been lodged and was under assessment. That is the reported status at publication, not confirmation of any later licensing decision.
Magistrate Stephen Butcher described the company as “a sophisticated company with not insignificant scale of operations.” ABC also quoted him as saying: “The number of notifications and notices suggest that making the assumptions that it did in relation to works approval not being required … there is really no basis for that misunderstanding.”
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Why does WA’s potato-market history matter?
The local-processing plan sits in a market shaped by earlier policy change. On 7 September 2016, the Government of Western Australia announced that it would deregulate the potato industry, ending what it described as a 70-year restriction on competition and consumer choice. The announcement said the Potato Marketing Corporation would be wound up by the end of 2016.
The state announced a $14 million grower adjustment package, including a $2 million industry development plan. These were transition-support figures announced in 2016; they are not estimates of shortage losses or measures of the industry’s current size.
Is there a potato shortage now?
The reporting cited here does not establish whether WA or Australia is facing a potato shortage as of 8 October 2026. The 2022 warning concerned that year’s run-up to Christmas, and the 2026 ABC report focused on the Myalup factory’s licensing case. Neither supports presenting a shortage as an ongoing current condition.
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