Potato sales falling because millennials prefer ‘healthy and exotic’ carbohydrates

The report claims that rice and noodles are favoured by young people today

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Millennials are in the midst of a PR crisis.

‘Whimsical spending’ habits mean they’ll never get on the housing ladder, social media means they’ve forgotten how to engage in offline conversations and most of them don't know how to change a car tyre because they’re too lazy to learn.

Now, agricultural experts are claiming that those currently between the ages of 18 and 34 are also to blame for a dramatic drop in potato sales, which a new report reveals have plummeted, all of a sudden.

According to a report published by The Grocer, potato sales have fallen by 5.4 per cent since 2015.

Meanwhile, sales of rice have surged by 30 per cent in the last four years and flavoured noodles have also seen a significant boost.

The magazine claims that the decline of the humble spud is due to millennials favouring “healthy, convenient and exotic” options over stodgy carbohydrates that they perceive as fattening.

Also, potatoes typically take longer to prepare, which is inconvenient for millennials, who are obviously impatient by nature.

The figures also reveal that microwaveable rice, which can be ready in as little as two minutes, is now worth £250 million a year.

However, it's not all downhill from here for the tater tots, as the report comes amidst a ‘Potatoes: More than a Bit on the Side’ campaign led by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) which aims to promote the starchy vegetable to young consumers, particularly women between the ages of 25 and 44.

It aims to tackle the aforementioned view that potatoes are unhealthy, advocating them as a versatile and convenient kitchen staple.

The campaign hails potatoes as being naturally low in saturated fat and sugars in addition to being a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and fibre.

Despite the new report, AHDB marketing officer Christine Watts claims that potato sales have actually increased by 2.6 per cent in the last three years.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Watts describes the campaign as “hugely successful” in revolutionising perceptions surrounding potatoes.

Despite many people shunning potatoes from their diet as part of a low-carbohydrate plan, nutrition experts argue that they can actually be a key component to maintaining a healthy diet and could even help with weight loss.

In fact, leading Harley Street nutritionist describes them as a "nutrition powerhouse" and recommends opting for roasted wedges as a healthy alternative to deep-fried chips, which can be highly fattening.