Market Report September 7, 2023

Chip potato markets are quiet. Almost all movement is on contract. Michigan weather has been mostly favorable during the past few weeks. Temperatures have been mild with very little rain. Reports indicate that yields and quality have been good on early-harvested potatoes.

August U.S. chip potato shipments exceeded 2022 movement by 6.2%. At 3.49 million cwt, that is 203,000 cwt more than the industry shipped a year earlier. Strong shipments from the Mid-Central region (+304,000 cwt), the Southwest region (+102,000 cwt), the West Coast region (+68,000 cwt), and Maine (+52,000 cwt) were the largest factors in the increase. Virginia (+47,000 cwt), North Carolina (+37,000 cwt), the Rocky Mountain region (+35,000 cwt), and the Midwest region (+19,000 cwt) also posted increased movement during August.

At 460,000 cwt, Michigan’s August chip potato shipments fell 239,000 cwt short of 2022 movement. Reported August chip potato shipments from Pennsylvania (-47,000 cwt), New York (-40,000 cwt), Wisconsin (-44,000 cwt), and the Red River Valley (-29,000 cwt) also fell short of year-earlier movement. Season-to-date, total new-crop chip potato shipments are running 6.7% ahead of the 2022 pace.

U.S. packers shipped 1.418 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending Sept. 2. That is down from 1.811 million cwt shipped a year earlier. USDA reporting may be delayed for Michigan. It did not report any Michigan potato shipments during the week ending Sept. 2. Michigan packers shipped 16,000 cwt during the same week in 2022.

Wisconsin packers are selling size A russet potatoes in 10-pound bags for mostly $13-$14 per 50-pound bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $16-$22 per 50-pound box, down from $18-$22 per 50-pound box a week ago. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $22.36 per cwt, down from $28.46 per cwt last week.

Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5-pound bales of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $16-$18 per bale, down from $16-$20 per bale a week ago. They are selling 50-pound cartons of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $16-$17.50 per 50-pound box, down from $16-$20 per 50-pound box last week. Big Lake and Central Minnesota packers are selling 10/5-pound bales of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $15-$19 per bale, up from $15-$16.50 per bale last week. They are selling 50-pound cartons of size A yellow potatoes for $15-$19 per 50-pound box, up from $15-$15.50 per 50-pound box a week ago. They are selling 2,000-pound tote bags of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $24-$32 per cwt, up from $24-$25 per cwt last week.

– Report by North American Potato Market News