Potato Stocks, Prices On the Rise in 2022

April 1 potato stocks are up 3% year over year, according to USDA’s Potato Stocks report. The April 14 report stated that 13 states held 129 million cwt of potatoes in storage, 3% higher than last year. Potatoes in storage account for 31% of the potato states’ 2021 production, up slightly from 30% in 2021. Processors report using 155 million cwt of potatoes for the season, up 6% from last year.

Meanwhile, potato shrink and loss is 1% higher than in 2021 while potato disappearance was down 5% in the same period. Consumers are paying more for potatoes than a year ago, with the fresh market per-carton price for U.S. conventional potatoes at $16.67, up from $13.93 a year a go but lower than the $17.81 per carton average in the same time in 2020. No matter how you fry it, potatoes remain a consumer favorite.

Read more on potato production and pricing here.