Chip potato business is quiet. Movement is good. Chip plants are running almost exclusively on contract potatoes. After a slow start, buyers are now pulling heavily out of Florida. Reports indicate that the North Carolina crop is in good condition. Growers there are expected to begin digging around June 10. Growers in Missouri plan to start digging around the middle of June. Heavy rainfall has been a challenge for Missouri’s potato crop. Planting is wrapping up in Michigan, with 80-90% of the potatoes in the ground. Rain this week has delayed planting for a few days.
US packers shipped 1.489 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending May 21, 2022. That is down from 1.698 million cwt a year earlier. Michigan packers shipped 33,100 cwt of potatoes during the week ending May 21, 2022. That is down from 34,400 cwt during the same week in 2021. Last week’s Michigan shipments were all Russets.
Wisconsin packers are selling size A Russet potatoes in 10# bags for mostly $10.50-$11.00 per 50# bale, unchanged from last week. They are selling Russet 40-70 count cartons for mostly $19.00-$20.00 per 50# box, up from $18.00-$20.00 per 50# box a week ago. The weighted average shipping point price for Idaho Russet Norkotahs is $22.81 per cwt, up from $21.21 per cwt last week.