The potato planting season on Prince Edward Island has been delayed due to cool, wet weather. But growers hope they can get back on track before harvesting begins later this year.“As of today, we probably have 40 percent of the crop planted,” said Greg Donald, general manager for the Prince Edward Island Potato Board. “Some areas are behind and some are not too far off normal.” Planting for the new crop usually takes up most of May, and though planting wraps up by the beginning of June, this season could see planting extended a couple more weeks.
“We're a week to two weeks behind where we'd like to be, and the reason for that is that we had a lot of snow this winter,” explained Donald. “The snow is disappearing, and though we had a normal amount of rain in May, we had a lot of days when it did actually rain. Because of a lot of wet days and abnormally cool weather, we're a little behind.” Despite the delay, Donald is optimistic about the effect an extended planting season will have on this year's crop. With harvesting several months away, there's still plenty of time for growers to make up those two weeks.
As for inventories from last fall's harvest, supplies have been tight.
“Our inventories are similar to what they were last year,” said Donald. “But our processing usage is higher this year than it was last year, so holdings for the fresh market are lower than they were at this time last year.” While prices for fresh potatoes are higher than they were last year, Donald explained that it has more to do with broader dynamics of supply and demand rather than just the tighter supplies coming from Prince Edward Island.
For more information:
Greg Donald
Prince Edward Island Potato Board
+1 902 892 6551