Growers across North America made significant planting progress last week. Most Michigan growers are close to wrapping up. Growers in the Central Sands region of Wisconsin finished last week. That state has been hot and dry, but there is some rain in the forecast. Growers in the Red River Valley are just getting started. Temperatures in the Valley have been in the 80s and 90s, but there is a chance of frost this weekend. Approximately 90% of Idaho’s potato crop is in the ground, which is earlier than usual. Idaho’s weather has been ideal for planting. Chip potato movement is slow, but steady. Plants are running on a mix of new-crop potatoes and storage supplies.
Canada held approximately 39.5 million cwt of potatoes in storage on May 1. That is 1.1 million cwt less than the record-large May 1, 2024 inventory, a 2.7% reduction. Most of the extra potatoes are in PEI, New Brunswick, and Quebec. Stocks intended for processing are down 2.9% from last year. Table potato inventories are up 2.3%, while seed potato inventories are down 6.6%, relative to 2024.
Ontario had 1.63 million cwt of chip potatoes in storage on May 1. That is only 2,000 cwt less than the province held a year earlier. Quebec Potato Producers reported that the province held 506,000 cwt of chip potatoes on May 1, 220,000 cwt more than a year ago. The combined chip potato inventory for the two provinces totaled 2.14 million cwt. That is 11.4% more than year-earlier holdings. April chip potato disappearance was mixed. Quebec’s April usage exceeded last year’s pace by 32.8%, while Ontario’s chip potato movement fell 26.1% short of the 2024 pace. At the April usage rate, Ontario’s storage chip potato supplies would last through Aug. 22, while Quebec’s chip potatoes would be cleaned up by June 29. Chip potato harvest typically gets underway during the last week of July. There may be some demand for imported US chip potatoes this year.
U.S. packers shipped 1.634 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending May 10. That is up from 1.575 million cwt shipped a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 30,600 cwt during the week ending May 10. That is down from 47,132 cwt shipped during the same week in 2024. Last week’s reported Michigan shipments were 75.7% russets, 19.1% yellow potatoes, and 5.1% round white potatoes.
The USDA has stopped reporting prices for Michigan russets. Wisconsin packers are selling size A russet potatoes in 10-pound bags for $9-$11 per 50-pound bale, unchanged from a week ago. They are selling russet 40-70 count cartons for $13.50-$15 per 50-pound box, also unchanged. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $13.32 per cwt, down from $14.21 per cwt the previous week.
The USDA also has stopped reporting prices for the Red River Valley. Florida packers are selling 50-pound cartons of size A yellow potatoes for $19.75-$24.95 per box, down from $20-$26.25 per box a week ago. They are selling yellow creamers in 50-pound cartons for mostly $40-$40.95 per box, up from $35-$42.90 per box last week. They are selling size A yellow potatoes in 2,000-pound tote bags for $32-$42.90 per cwt, down from $35-$40.90 per cwt the previous week.