U.S. chip potato movement during the four weeks in December totaled 4.08 million cwt. That is 95,000 cwt less than the industry shipped a year earlier, a 2.3% reduction. At 730,000 cwt, Michigan’s December shipments fell 10.4% short of 2023 movement. Wisconsin shipped 781,000 cwt during the period, up 3.1% from a year earlier. Shipments from the West Coast region and the Rocky Mountain region fell by 6.1% and 10.3%, respectively. Reported chip potato movement from the Red River Valley dropped by 20.8%. Shipments from the Mid-Central region were down 0.9%. Chip potato supplies are plentiful. Business is steady. Chip companies continue to run almost exclusively on contract potatoes.
Current estimates are that one fryer in the Pacific Northwest will purchase and turn back to growers approximately 10-12 million cwt of potatoes from the 2024 crop. Most of those potatoes are in the Columbia Basin, though some are in Idaho. North American fry sales are expected to grow by approximately 1% this year. New plants are under construction in Lethbridge, Alberta, and Moses Lake, Washington. In addition, Agristo – a European-based company – recently announced plans to build its first U.S. plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Contract negotiations are moving forward in the Columbia Basin. Prices are down 5%, compared to last year. Volumes are expected to be flat for two processors, though they could be down 15%-20% for the other fryer. Negotiations are underway in other parts of North America. Prices for frozen processing potatoes could be down more than 5% in some regions.
U.S. packers shipped 1.838 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending Jan. 11. That is up from 1.764 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 30,104 cwt during the week ending Jan. 11. That is down from 85,615 cwt shipped during the same week in 2024. Last week’s Michigan shipments were 83.9% russets, 13.8% round whites, and 2.2% yellows.
The USDA reports that Michigan packers are selling size A russets in 10-pound bags for $10-$11 per 50-pound bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling size A russets in 5-pound bags for $11-$12 per 50-pound bale, also unchanged. Wisconsin packers are selling size A russet potatoes in 10-pound bags for $9-$10 per 50-pound bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $12-$13 per 50-pound box, also unchanged. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $16.52 per cwt, unchanged from the previous week.
Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5-pound bales of size A yellow potatoes for $15-$17 per bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling 50-pound cartons of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $16-$17 per 50-pound box, also unchanged. Red River Valley packers are selling size A yellow potatoes in 2,000-pound tote bags for mostly $18-$20 per cwt, down from $20-$21 per cwt a week ago.
Report by North American Potato Market News