The British Potato Council (BPC) is a Non-departmental Public Body (NDPB) and our operations are funded by statutory levies, paid by producers and trade purchasers of potatoes.

Our main functions are to fund research and development, transfer technology, collect and disseminate market information, and to advertise and promote potatoes at home and in export markets.

The BPC was established by the Potato Industry Development Council (PIDC) Order 1997, under the Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947, and came into being on 1 July 1997. Changes, relating to the way purchaser levies are charged, were introduced by the PIDC (Amendment) Order. This received Parliamentary approval in May 1999, and the changes came into effect on 1 July that year.  A further Amendment Order in 2002 introduced a two tier levy rate system and increased the registration thresholds for both producers and purchasers.

The Council consists of 16 members appointed jointly by the Ministers with responsibility for agriculture. The constitution of the Council, which is determined by PIDC Order, is as follows:

1. Twelve persons capable of representing industry interests;
Of these, nine members are growers and three represent the industry beyond the farm gate. One of the growers must be a specialist seed producer, and is also the Chairman of the SSG (see below)

2. One person capable of representing the interests of industry employees;

3. One person with specialist knowledge of marketing or distribution of industry products; and

4. Two persons, including the Chairman, who are independent.

BPC Committees
The Seed Sectoral Group (SSG) is a statutory committee set up by the BPC, in accordance with the requirements of the PIDC Order.

The BPC also has committees for the following functions:

• Marketing & Communications
• Research & Development
• Market Information
• Audit