The potato industry saw a good pull for the Thanksgiving holiday. "Volume pulled by retailers was strong and there's still plenty of promotable volume available going into the Christmas holiday and into the new year out of all shipping regions," says Drew Callaghan, executive vice-president of RPE, LLC.
With Thanksgiving falling later in November this year, on volume, the pre-holiday pull was still on par with Thanksgiving 2023. "We were expecting to be really busy from late November through early December–basically a double pull with both holidays. We didn't see that. We got the Thanksgiving rush and then we got a bit of a dip and we're now seeing the Christmas holiday pull starting," says Callaghan. "That may have allowed our sheds to do some cleanup and assessment and get ready for Christmas. Hopefully, we'll see a really strong Christmas pull that carries into the New Year."
Harvesting of potatoes under the Northern Lights.
After all, a good pull is needed to help move a large crop thanks to good growing conditions in many regions. Regionally, while shippers out of Canada on the East Coast got a late start to the season, states such as Idaho had a bit of a twist to its season. "While you didn't see Idaho come off from a percentage standpoint that we anticipated given their oversupply last year, they came off enough that it hasn't created this bumper crop," says Callaghan. "That said, Idaho also had really strong growing conditions and while the acreage was less, their yields and crop quality this season are strong. Meanwhile, the region that was the most challenged was Wisconsin due to wet weather and it's likely the state will look to rebound next crop season."
Varietal notes
On varieties, there is also good availability of Russets, reds, and yellow potatoes and it's expected that the industry should be able to market them well through to the end of the crop cycle.
That said, with those good volumes, the industry is hoping to see retailers drop their price points more than they did for the Thanksgiving holiday. "Hopefully for Christmas, they know there's a lot of promotable volumes out there that we're looking to move," says Callaghan.
Callaghan says there should be some firmness in the markets come January onward, and then again as certain shipping regions finish given there aren't as many potatoes this year.
As for pricing, it's flat on par with last year's pricing. "I don't think there's as many potatoes available this year as there were last year so you could see some firmness in the markets come January onward, and then again as certain shipping regions finish," says Callaghan. "There aren't as many potatoes this year. There was certainly a surplus last year."
Looking ahead, like many in the produce industry, those in the potato segment await the type of changes that are likely to be implemented under President-Elect Donald Trump. "We're looking forward to potential movement on the farm bill, some plans from an H-2A standpoint and we're watching what may or may not happen as far as tariffs," says Callaghan.
For more information:
Drew Callaghan
RPE, LLC
Tel: +1 (843) 628-1050
[email protected]
https://www.rpespud.com/