Chip potato business has been steady. Wisconsin’s chip potato harvest is in full swing. Harvest is also underway in Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Reports indicate that crops look good, and harvest is progressing as planned. Buyers have been pleased with the quality of Atlantic potatoes this year. Most Atlantics have been cleaned up.
Michigan’s potato crop is in good shape. Summer growing conditions have been mostly favorable, with timely rains. Michigan’s chip potato harvest is just beginning. Growers plan to start digging table potatoes in about 10 days.
Through the week ending July 27, total new-crop chip potato movement is running 12.1% short of the 2023 pace. Florida’s shipping season is all but finished. That state’s total shipments are down 41.1% from a year ago. Shipments from the West Coast region are running 28.2% ahead of last year’s pace. North Carolina has shipped 30.8% fewer chip potatoes. Chip potato movement from the Mid-Central region is down 31.5%, while shipments from the Southwest region are up 20.0%.
U.S. packers shipped 1.516 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending July 27. That is up from 1.293 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 46,375 cwt of potatoes during the week ending July 27. That is up from 27,000 cwt shipped during the same week in 2023. Last week’s Michigan shipments were 85.9% russets, 10.2% round white potatoes, and 3.9% yellow potatoes.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A russet potatoes in 10-pound bags for mostly $7.50-$9.50 per 50-pound bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $14-$15 per 50-pound box, also unchanged. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Burbanks is $12.07 per cwt, up from $12.03 per cwt a week ago.
Report by North American Potato Market News