b'MARKET NEWSStrained Spud MarketThe North American potato market will be tight on supply until the new crop rolls in.BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONWITH SPUDS IN the ground acrossMinn. on June 16 had many in the North North America and attention turning to theAmerican potato industry indicating crop that will shortly be hauled off fields,acres will be status quo overall, with some theres concern about there being enoughincreases being seen in regions where potatoes until then. expansion has been possible. The supply of raw potatoes is going to beIn Canada, we have to push to fill the very, very tight for the processors. All of theexpansion. Youre going to see in Alberta major companies in North America havewhere theres some availability, but in been metering out their existing raw productManitoba, where we would expect to to make it to the new crop because theysee some as well, they just dont have the dont want to have any major shutdowns,availability. There are barriers there to Dale Lathim, executive director of theexpansion, Stamper says.Potato Growers of Washington, Inc.,In the Columbia Basin, acreage isAs an industry explains in a phone interview. expected to rise, with Lathim saying there Lathim points to the previous year as ahas been 6,000 more acres contracted thanweve been a little case study in why the processors are being solast year. He notes this is to fill expansionbit slow. We never want cautious this year. Last year processors werein the local processing industry, as thereto have overcapacity. aggressive to fill their plants as new crophas been plenty of quiet expansions started coming online. Instead of waiting forhappening.And so, weve been very the potatoes to bulk up, processors pushedAs an industry weve been a little bit slow.disciplined in how weve growers to harvest their spuds early, whichWe never want to have overcapacity. Andbeen adding (more is partly to blame for the current supplyso, weve been very disciplined in how weve tightness.been adding (more processing capacity). Butprocessing capacity). But This year were going to take a muchif you go back and you average it since 2015,if you go back and you slower start to the crop. And so, the originalweve averaged right around 200 to 250average it sinceplan had the pipeline not been empty andmillion pounds of new capacity each year,2015, weve averaged these types of play situations, (ColumbiaLathim says.Basin growers) would have started harvestWhile there have been some flex acresright around 200 to 250 here around the end of June to the first ofplanted in Idaho this year, there was also amillion pounds of new Julynow its going to be like the middleprocessor who went directly to growers tocapacity each year.of July, Lathim adds. negotiate contracts. This was a rare instance In Canada, Victoria Stamper, generaland has left some in the industry with a bad Dale Lathimmanager of the United Potato Growers oftaste in their mouth.Canada, says many shippers are focusingThere was one segment that one of the on supplying their local demand with lesscompanies was not able to get as much attention being paid to exporting to thecoverage as what they had wanted in that United States. that portion of the state. So, they did goThere areMost of the provinces are feeling prettyback and offer a signing bonus to their6,000 more good about transition, nobodys reallyexisting growersthose who had both going to go long. Quebec is getting tight.signed and not signed, Lathim explains.potato acres Manitoba is focused more now on their ownTo the best of my knowledge, all thecontracted market, rather than export to the U.S. So,growers in that region did sign.people are managing the crop well to getLathim adds the industry is hoping itthis year in the through transition, she explains. doesnt become a regular occurrence asColumbia BasinWhile no official acreage numbers havegrowers not in the region werent included in been released yet, discussion at the Cropthe signing bonus which has left some with Transition Conference in Bloomington,hard feelings over it.36SPUDSMART.COMSummer 2023'