Chip potato markets are quiet. Supplies are balanced with demand. Chip companies are running exclu-sively on contract potatoes. Open-market prices are at contract levels, though there are not many being offered. Reports are mixed on contract volumes in the southern growing areas. Contract prices in North Florida are up more than 20%, relative to year ago levels.
Potato Expo 2023 is taking place in Aurora, Colorado this week. Attendance is up significantly from last year. The Potato Business Summit, which took place this morning, was a packed session. Presentations from that meeting can be viewed at potatobusinesssummit.com. The Expo is filled with vendor booths. There appears to be a wide range of growers and industry professionals from across North America in attendance.
US packers shipped 1.154 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending December 31, 2022. That is down from 1.209 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan’s reported shipments totaled 41,400 cwt of pota-toes during the week ending December 31, 2022. That is down from 59,500 cwt during the same week in 2021. Last week’s reported Michigan shipments were 95.4% Russets, 2.4% Yellow potatoes, and 2.2% Red potatoes.
USDA reports that Michigan packers are selling size A Russets in 10# bags for $16.00-$17.00 per 50# bale, unchanged from last week. Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potato in 10# bags for mostly $14.00-$15.00 per 50# bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling Russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $26.00-$32.00 per 50# box, also unchanged. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $37.30 per cwt. That is unchanged from a week ago.
Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5# bales of size A Yellow potato for mostly $19.50-$23.00 per bale, un-changed from a week ago. They are selling 50# cartons of size A Yellow potato for mostly $19.00-$23.00 per 50# box, also unchanged. Red River Valley packers are selling size A Yellow potato in 2000# tote bags for mostly $23.00-$26.00 per cwt, unchanged from last week.
– Report by North American Potato Market News