Chip potato supplies remain plentiful. USDA reports combined shipments of storage and new-crop potatoes for the week ending June 12 at 1.033 million cwt. That is down 0.9% from shipments during the same week in 2020. Storage potatoes accounted for 28.6% of last week’s shipments, up from a 24.2% share a year ago. It will take another 2-3 weeks to clean up this year’s remaining storage potatoes. Chip plants are running almost exclusively on contract potatoes. The biggest challenge is finding trucks to move the potatoes.
North Carolina shipments will be picking up this week as the ground dries out. Dealers indicate that potatoes currently being harvested are in good condition, but they worry that the rains leached out nutrients, which could affect yields and quality on late-harvested potatoes, particularly if the weather turns hot. Crops in other parts of the country appear to be in good condition. Missouri’s harvest is off to a much quicker start this year than it had in 2020.
US packers shipped 1.573 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending June 12, 2021. That is up from 1.570 million cwt a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 25,000 cwt of potatoes during the week ending June 12, 2021. That is down from 32,560 cwt during the same week in 2020. Last week’s Michigan shipments were all Russet potatoes.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potatoes in 10# bags for mostly $8.00-$8.50 per 50# bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling 40-70 count Russet count cartons for mostly $15.00-$16.00 per 50# box, up from $15.00-$15.50 per box a week ago. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Burbanks is $15.00 per cwt, up from $14.76 per cwt last week.
Pricing for Yellow and Round White potatoes in eastern growing areas is not available at this time, due to a lack of supplies. North Carolina’s table potato harvest should get underway this weekend, at which time price reporting for Yellow and Round White potatoes may resume.