It’s all about the varieties right now. That’s what Ken Gad of Cambridge Farms Inc. Says is spurring the movement of potatoes in the market today.
Russets: “People are very concerned with what Russet supplies we’re going to have come mid-summer,” he says.
Currently, there are supplies still coming out of Idaho and Colorado will have supplies until mid-June while Canadian supplies will last until the end of June. “However everyone has enough for their people but aren’t really taking on new customers. That’s understood in the short-term but could bite them in the long term,” says Gad. So in all, supplies are tight and will remain that way through summer. At the same time, this is the time of year when retailers also start becoming concerned over quality this late in the season.
That said, Russets will start in Virginia at the beginning of July and that’s likely to be met with strong demand. “There will be a slow rise in that market certainly on the larger sizes--the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. They’ve been tight and they’re going to be even tighter as we go,” he says.
White potatoes: There is still some good quality product out Prince Edward Island and Gad notes he has about two weeks left of those. These are also shipping at well below what the new crop out of Florida is costing. “New crop Florida started out very very high--they’ve since come down but they’re still quite high,” he says. He says by the next two weeks, the market will start to mirror the yellow market which is in the low $40s.
Yellow potatoes: “There are ample and available supplies of yellows for the first time in a month. Yellows ran out pretty much everywhere in the country and got tight,” he says, noting the Canadian yellows didn’t have the color he was looking for while North Dakota ran out of its yellows a month ago. “For the most part, it’s been very very tight though that’s loosened up considerably over the past 10 days,” he says.
Yellow supplies are anticipated to stay good putting the market at approximately $43 right now.
Red potatoes: North Dakota red potatoes will probably go into June. “One copacker told me some of the reds he’s seeing right now are the best he’s seen all year and he wishes he’d seen them a month ago,” Gad says, though noting that now all eyes are turned towards Florida and its fresh crop. “I don’t see any red shortage happening here mostly because of North Dakota and Florida going hard. They’ve planted a few less acres in Florida but I still think we have ample supply there to get us through into the Eastern shore. The quoted price is $15.95/50 lb. bag,” he says.
For more information:
Ken Gad
Cambridge Farms Inc.
Tel: +1 508-297-2630
[email protected]
https://cambridgefarms.wordpress.com/