Dec 17, 2007December Potato Stocks Up 4 Percent from Last Year
The 13 major potato States held 270 million cwt of potatoes in storage Dec. 1, up 4 percent from last year and 6 percent above Dec. 1, 2005, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Potatoes in storage account for 68 percent of the 2007 fall storage states’ production, up 1 percentage point from last year. Klamath Basin stocks total 4.2 million cwt. on Dec. 1, up 5 percent from last year. Klamath Basin includes California and Klamath County, Ore., potato stocks.
Disappearance of 130 million cwt. from the start of harvest to Dec. 1 is unchanged from last year but up 8 percent from 2005. Shrink and loss, at 13.9 million cwt., is up 5 percent from the previous year and 9 percent above the same date in 2005.
Processors have used 72 million cwt. of 2007 crop potatoes so far this season, down 3 percent from a year ago but 10 percent above 2 years ago. Idaho and Malheur County, Ore., total processing decreased 3 percent from a year ago, Maine’s total processing was 3 percent below the same date in 2006 and Washington and the rest of Oregon total processing was down 6 percent from last season. Dehydrating usage accounts for 12.7 million cwt. of the total processing, down 13 percent from last year but 7 percent above the same date in 2005.
Western states held 193 million cwt. of potatoes in storage on Dec. 1, up 9 percent from last year and 8 percent above 2005. Idaho’s potato stocks are up 4 percent from last year, Washington’s potato sheds held 22 percent more than last year and Oregon’s stocks increased 13 percent from last season. Montana’s potato sheds held 9 percent more stocks than last year and California’s potato stocks increased 11 percent from last season. Colorado’s potato stocks declined 12 percent from last year.
Central States accounted for 61.7 million cwt. of potato stocks on Dec. 1, down 4 percent from last year but 3 percent above the same date in 2005. Wisconsin’s potato stocks declined 5 percent from last year, North Dakota’s sheds held 16 percent less and potato stocks in Nebraska are 10 percent below last season. Minnesota’s potato stocks are up 2 percent from last year and Michigan’s potato sheds held 17 percent more than on the same date in 2006.
Eastern States stored 15.5 million cwt. of potatoes on Dec. 1, down 11 percent from last year but up 1 percent from 2005. Maine’s potato sheds held 12 percent less than last year while New York’s potato stocks declined 7 percent from a year ago.
