The chip potato market remains quiet. Harvest is ramping up in several states. Buyers can get all the potatoes they need, but potatoes are not backing up. Some buyers are pulling contracts forward. Michigan’s chip potato harvest is moving ahead. Wisconsin’s harvest is underway. Reports indicate that both states have good chip potato crops this year. Yields have been average to a little above average, with good quality. The weather has been ideal. Potato crops in New York and Ontario have been set back by the lack of moisture. Growers in the Red River Valley have started digging chip potatoes.
US packers shipped 1.311 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending August 20, 2022. That is down from 1.703 million cwt a year earlier. USDA did not report any Michigan potato shipments during the week ending August 20, 2022. There were no reported table potato shipments a year ago.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potatoes in 10# bags for mostly $16.00-$18.00 per 50# bale. They are selling Russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $35.00-$38.00 per 50# box. FIRST REPORT. The weighted average shipping point price for new-crop Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $57.25 per cwt. That is up from $56.26 per cwt a week ago.
Big Lake and Central Minnesota packers are selling 2000# tote bags of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $25.00 per cwt, down from $25.00-$30.00 per cwt last week. Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5# bales of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $16.00-$19.00 per bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling 50# cartons of size A Yellow potatoes for mostly $16.00-$19.00 per 50# box, up from $16.00-$18.50 per 50# box last week.