State of potatoes

Since the start of the season, the US potato market has been stagnant, gaining little headway. But growers are confident that the market will steadily improve as the season continues on. According to traders, several regions have had a challenging growing season, which has showed up yet in the marketplace.

 

"The market is flat, but as we get into spring and summer, prices will improve," said producer Bryan Searle. "Overall, its going to be a good year. There are issues in other states and Canada has its problems, and thats why we could see higher prices later in the season." Searle says transportation is still a factor,but not as bad as last year. "Transportation is a little better than it was last year, but it is something we need to keep an eye on."

 

Europe has a potato shortage due to drought conditions. Searle says there opportunities for US growers, especially for fresh exports. "There are opportunities for processed US potatoes in Europe, but less so for fresh," he explained. "Due to the strict phyto-sanitary requirements for imports into the EU, very few US producers export fresh potatoes to Europe."