Apr 23, 2008April Potato Stocks Up 10 Percent From April 2007
The 13 major potato States held 134 million cwt. of potatoes in storage April 1, up 10 percent from a year ago and 15 percent above April 1, 2006. Potatoes in storage accounted for 33 percent of the 2007 fall storage states’ production, up 2 percentage points from last year. Klamath Basin stocks totaled 1.15 million cwt. on April 1, down 18 percent from last year. Klamath Basin stocks include potatoes stored in California and Klamath County, Ore.
Disappearance from the start of harvest to April 1 was at 266 million cwt., 1 percent below last year but up 3 percent from 2006. Shrink and loss, at
21.6 million cwt., was down 3 percent from the same period in 2007 but up 7 percent from 2006.
Processors have used 140 million cwt. of 2007 crop potatoes so far this season, down 4 percent from last year’s season-to-date usage but up 5 percent from 2 years ago. Idaho and Malheur County, Ore., total processing decreased 2 percent from a year ago and Maine’s total processing was 5 percent below 2007. Washington and the rest of Oregon total processing was 5 percent lower than last season. Dehydrating usage accounted for 29.3 million cwt. of the total processing, down 9 percent from last year but 10 percent above the same period in 2006.
Western states held 102.7 million cwt. of potatoes in storage on April 1, up 18 percent from a year ago and 16 percent above 2006. Idaho’s potato stocks were up 10 percent from last year; Washington’s potato stocks were 55 percent above last year; and Oregon’s stocks increased 21 percent from April 1, 2007. California’s potato stocks decreased 25 percent from 2007, while Colorado and Montana stocks were both down 17 percent from a year ago.
Central states accounted for 24.4 million cwt. of all potato stocks on April 1, down 5 percent from a year ago but 20 percent above the same date in 2006. Wisconsin’s potato stocks were down 5 percent from last year; North Dakota’s stocks were 24 percent below 2007; and potato stocks in Nebraska were down 13 percent from the previous season. Minnesota’s stocks increased
5 percent from the same date in 2007 and Michigan’s potato stocks were 61 percent higher than a year ago.
Eastern states stored 6.5 million cwt. of potatoes on April 1, down 21 percent from a year earlier and 7 percent below April 1, 2006. Maine’s potato stocks were 19 percent lower than last year and New York’s potato stocks decreased 40 percent from a year ago.
