b'MARKET NEWSOversupply, Export Issues Weigh on Potato MarketA record potato crop and export restrictions are weighing on Canadian potato markets.BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONLAST FALL, the Canadian potatoU.S. potatotime left in the year to deal with the crop.industry was seeing high potato pricesIn the U.S., with the large P.E.I. crop with plentiful supplies in eastern Canada.production downunable to be shipped there, potato prices At the time, the industrys main concern1.6% from 2020 are on the rise. The hot, dry weather was how to ship potatoes to areas in thealso affected U.S. potato production. west which were lacking. That all changedAccording to the U.S. Department of though in November.Canada potatoAgriculture, the 2021 American potato On Nov. 21, the Canadian governmentproduction up 18.2%crop was down 1.6 per cent from the placed a Ministerial Order on potatofrom 2020 previous year at 413.16 million cwt.exports from Prince Edward Island.What typically happens is into that The order suspended exports of allharvest window when all those potatoes P.E.I. potatoes to the United States, seedstart to flood onto the market it has a potato exports to the rest of Canada wereThey all have to bedrastic dampening effect on price, Mark suspended and fresh potato shipments tomarketed in Canada,Klompien, CEO of United Potato Growers other Canadian provinces required extraof America, says during the Potato cleaning before export. This was all dueor I guess moreBusiness Summit in Anaheim, Calif. on to the discovery of potato wart in twosignificantly if theyJan. 5, 2022.fields the previous month on the Island. arent able to be marketed, theyll havePotato prices only dipped slightly at Potato prices in Canada then startedto be destroyed. Because the issue todayaround 10 to 12 per cent during harvest falling. Since the restrictions were put inwith a fast recovery post-harvest, place, Kevin MacIsaac, general manageris that we dont have enough days ofKlompien explains. Since then, prices of the United Potato Growers of Canada,packing time left in the year to deal withhave remained fairly stable across the U.S.says prices have dropped around $1 tothe crop. KEVIN MACISSAC$1.10 per hundredweight (cwt).2022 Growing SeasonThats the result of more pressure onPlans for the 2022 growing season are still the Canadian market since the productup in the air. P.E.I. growers are worried cant be shipped out on the East Coast.Visit https://spudsmart.com/category/ theyll have leftover crop come planting P.E.I. has limits to try to go in Canada,business/markets-and-pricing/ fortime and increased production costs are and the market just cant absorb thatweekly potato market updates. weighing on growers across the country. additional product, he explains in aVariable potato production costs, led by phone interview. sky high fertilizer prices, have increased Canadian growers produced aby 30 to 35 per cent over the past two record potato crop for the 2021 season.put a plan in place, a pack plan, whereyears, MacIsaac says.According to Statistics Canada, 123.1you see how you could ship that extraSeed sales are also a worry, with seed million cwt of potatoes were produced inproduction into the areas that neededpotato sales from P.E.I. looking unlikely 2021, up 18.2 per cent from the previousthem. And that all changed on Novemberdue to the potato wart issues.year. The bulk of that production came22, MacIsaac explains. We dont haveWhat weve been working on has been from P.E.I. at 23.2 per cent, due to anany opportunity there to do that anymore.for washed, fresh, sprout-nipped potatoes ideal growing season. Dry, hot weatherThey all have to be marketed in Canada,to move on the table side into the U.S. and in Western Canada reduced the potatoor I guess more significantly if they arentterritory of Puerto Rico. So, I think the crop there requiring extra potatoes to beable to be marketed, theyll have to berequirements are even more stringent on shipped in. destroyed. Because the issue today is thatseeds. Im not optimistic at all, MacIsaac Back in November, we were trying towe dont have enough days of packingsays. 58SPUDSMART.COM Winter 2022'