Chip potato business has been steady, though movement remains slow. Wisconsin’s chip potato harvest is in full swing. Harvest also is getting underway in Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Michigan’s potato crop appears to be in good shape. The weather has been hot during the past week, with a few scattered thunderstorms. Slightly cooler temperatures are forecast for the next seven days.
Through the week ending July 26, reported new-crop chip potato shipments are running 24.3% short of the 2024 pace. Florida’s shipping season is finished. That state’s total shipments are down 13.5% from a year ago. Shipments from the West Coast region are running 26.7% behind last year’s accelerated pace. North Carolina has shipped 19.4% fewer chip potatoes. Chip potato movement from the Mid-Central region is down 38.8%, while shipments from the Southwest region are down 38.5%.
U.S. packers shipped 1.475 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending July 26. That is down from 1.557 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 46,674 cwt during the week ending July 26. That is up from 46,375 cwt shipped during the same week in 2024. Last week’s reported Michigan shipments were 89.4% russets, 9.6% yellow potatoes, and 1.0% round white potatoes.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A russet potatoes in 10-pound bags for $10.50-$11 per 50-pound bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling russet 40-70 count cartons for $17.50-$20 per 50-pound box, also unchanged. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Burbanks is $16.05 per cwt, unchanged from the previous week.
USDA has finished reporting prices for Virginia, as remaining supplies are in too few hands. Fresh shipments are expected to wind down during the next two weeks.
– This report was compiled by North American Potato Market News (NAPMN) for the Michigan Potato Industry Commission.