John Dacoutros (May 19) asked why the cross of The Knights of St John is printed on sacks containing Maltese potatoes.

Back in the late 1950s, until 1971, the export of potatoes and onions was in the hands of the private sector. Every local company had its own contacts (importers) in Holland. Every exporter used to import its own jute bags with the firm’s brand name printed on the bags.

Our company’s brand for potatoes was The Sunny Isle and for onions Chef Brand.

The export of potatoes by the private sector was taken over by the Department of Agriculture in the 1972 export season.

The negotiations were handled by the department on behalf of the potato growers.

The department imported the empty sacks with the cross of the Knights printed on them and, thus, the red eight-pointed cross found itself on Maltese potato bags for the first time.

Probably the symbol was chosen because it is connected to Malta. The very competitive Dutch market was thus assured that it was buying the much preferred Maltese potatoes!