b'MARKET NEWSRecord Crop Could Lead to Acreage DeclineRecord potato crops in Canada and the U.S. could see fewer spuds planted for 2024.BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONAFTER A FEW NOT so goodsector. However, there does remain concern production years and increased demand2023 Canadianof processing potatoes moving into the fresh from the processing industry, a higherpotato crop atsector in the Pacific Northwest.planted potato acreage in North America128.115 millionAn export market optionat least has led to record production numbers. Andcwt for processed frozen productcould while this means there are plenty of spudsbe Europe, which suffered from an to go around, it could impact how manyoverabundance of rainfall during harvest. potatoes are planted this year.2023 U.S. The North-Western European Potato We didnt have huge bumper yields. Wepotato crop atGrowers reported in November 2023 that just had way too many planted acres, Dale434.2 million cwt production was estimated at 23.6 million Lathim, executive director of the Potatotonnes, however as of that date only 22.2 Growers of Washington, Inc., says in amillion tonnes had been harvested.phone interview. The fear was that thatThere may be opportunities for Canada might be the new normal and so everybodyto export frozen product, Stamper says. adjusted their expectations for productionMaybe well see fewer imports from some off of each acre to be more in line with 21of the European countries for frozen fries to 22. And what we got was back to normalcoming into North America.yields. Processing contract negotiations are Statistics Canada reported that thereheating up for the 2024 growing season. were 128,115,000 hundredweight (cwt) ofLathim says the potato growers in the potatoes produced in Canada in 2023 Columbia Basin finalized their contract marking the largest crop on record. Thethe first week of Januarythe region average yield was 332.4 cwt per harvestedhistorically sets the potato price for across acres. There were 385,368 acres of spudsNorth America. The contract prices for 2024 harvested, down from the initial 395,389should be stable with a change of maybe a acres planted at the start of the growingper cent or two, but Lathim says there wont season.be any dramatic jumps in prices.However, that record production isntThe record production is going to cause from coast-to-coast. While potato growersissues though for the 2024 crop. Lathim in the West harvested a record crop, theirVictoria Stamper, general manager of thedoesnt believe all the spuds that were comrades in the East werent as lucky.United Potato Growers of Canada grown in 2023 will be used, with some still A lot of the Atlantic northeast the cropsavailable well into harvest 2024 and others arent what we thought. There are potentialbeing destroyed or sent for animal feed. storage issues, there was hollow heart in theWere going to have some carryover into russets, its that type of thing. As much as24. So, the planted acres should go down, overall in Canada weve had a record crop,Visit spudsmart.com/category/business/markets- he explains. I think you can expect some a lot of that record was in the West in theand-pricing/ for regular potato market updates. decline in acres everywhere. But the further processing sector, Victoria Stamper, generaleast you go, there is going to be less and less.manager of the United Potato Growers ofThe seed situation should be positive Canada, explains in a phone interview. Stamper cautions that while there is aheading into spring planting. With the South of the border, the United Statessurplus of spuds south of the border, theWest seeing record crop production, seed Department of Agriculture reported theimpact on pricing in Canada hasnt yetpotato crops out of Saskatchewan and 2023 U.S. potato crop at 434.2 millionbeen as significant as in the U.S. but hasBritish Columbia have been reported as cwt. An increase in harvested areas and thereduced Canadian potato exports. Duegood. Stamper cautions that there could third largest yield on record at 452 cwt perto the record processing crop in Westernbe shortages of particular varieties in some acre allowed for largest crop on record sinceCanada, movement of potatoes from theregions but there should be enough overall 2000 to be produced.U.S. to Canada may be reduced in thisseed to go around for the year.50SPUDSMART.COMWinter 2024'