Jun 4, 2020US potato acreage to be down 6.2%, NAPMN projects
The USDA is yet to release its 2020 U.S. potato acreage estimates, but industry statistical tracker and market monitor North American Potato Market News projects a decrease of 6.2% from 2019.
Nearly all of the major potato-producing states are expected to have decreased acreage, with the exception of Colorado (up 3%), as well as California and Texas, which are expected to be on par with last year.
NAPMN’s June 3 newsletter has U.S. total acreage estimated at 908,000, led by Idaho at 295,000 (down 4.8%), Washington 147,000 (down 10.9%) and North Dakota 69,000 (down 5.5%).
With the foodservice shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fry makers have seen decreased demand, which has affected their 2020 contracts with growers of processing potatoes. Washington growers more reliant on frozen processing contracts by ratio than any other state, which is the driving factor in the double-digit percentage projection there, although not as drastic as the original projection of 20%.
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