Michigan has started shipping new-crop russet table potatoes. Growers indicate that both yields and quality are good for this year’s crop. Growers in the central part of the state started digging chip potatoes last weekend. Those potatoes also look good. Spotty thunderstorms have slowed harvest in several areas.
North American Potato Market News (NAPMN) expects U.S. growers to produce 429.6 million cwt of potatoes during 2023. That is 37.36 million cwt more than USDA’s current estimate for the 2022 crop, a 9.5% increase. Growers are likely to harvest 941,400 acres of potatoes this year. That is 45,800 acres more than they harvested from the 2022 crop. NAPMN projects an average yield of 456 cwt per acre. That is up from last year’s 438 cwt per acre. It falls 4 cwt below the 20-year trend yield, 460 cwt per acre. If realized, it would be the largest U.S. potato crop since 2018. Summer growing conditions have been mostly favorable across the country. Harvest will not be complete for three months. Growing conditions between now and the end of harvest have the potential to change yields from the current forecast. At this point, the tendency may be for yields to increase.
U.S. packers shipped 1.384 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending August 5. That is up from 1.199 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan’s reported new-crop shipments totaled 30,100 cwt during the week ending August 5. There were no reported shipments during the same week in 2022. Last week’s Michigan shipments were 100% russets.
The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Burbanks is $37.39 per cwt. That is down from $38.80 per cwt a week ago.
Big Lake and Central Minnesota packers are selling 10/5-pound bales of size A yellow potatoes for $20-$21 per bale. They are selling 50-pound cartons of size A yellow potatoes for $20-$21 per 50-pound box. They are selling 2,000-pound tote bags of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $35.00 per cwt. Wisconsin packers are selling 10/5-pound bales of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $24.50-$26 per bale. They are selling 50-pound cartons of size A yellow potatoes for mostly $24-$26.50 per 50-pound box.
– Report by North American Potato Market News