Prince Edward Island is about 70-75 percent complete in its potato harvest. “We have about a week’s worth of harvesting left. Up until last week, we went through 2.5 weeks where it was warmer than normal. It was sunny and the fields had a chance to dry out from the rain we had so a lot of potatoes were harvested at that time,” says Dwayne Coffin Vanco Produce Ltd.
Indeed, this season for growing, PEI farmers have seen a bit of everything weather-wise. While the season started out dry and cold, July saw a two-week period where it was hot and humid. That brought on rain throughout July and August. “That’s probably our biggest concern,” says Coffin. “We set records for rainfall from June to August which was a bit surprising. We were getting rain every week but it showed how dry the ground was.”
As for the crop, it’s an average yield on most varieties though on some of the processing varieties, there’s potential for an above-average yield because of all that moisture from August onwards. “If there’s any drawback, we’ve gotten too much rain. The fields are quite saturated again this week,” says Coffin. “There is going to be some concern about how this crop is going to store because of the wet fields and wet potatoes.”
Geographic advantage?
On demand, it’s on the lower end, especially given that Coffin says it seems like every major potato-growing region had a terrific growing season. “It appears there are going to be a lot of potatoes available in the marketplace,” he says. “Our hope is that the vast majority of extra potatoes are in Western Canada or Western USA. It’s going to cost a lot of money to transport those potatoes across either country. That along with our exchange rates to export into the U.S. are certainly in our favor.”
Those two factors alone could help hold pricing on PEI potatoes, which this year is starting out lower than other years. That said, more promotions may be available this coming season at retail. “In some items, prices won’t be down that much but retail packs or consumer packs at times, prices could be off quite a bit compared to other years,” he adds.
For more information:
Dwayne Coffin
Vanco Produce Ltd.
Tel: +1 (902) 651-2005
[email protected]
www.vancofarms.com