Jun 15, 2009Potato Stocks Down 11 Percent from Last Year
The 13 major potato states held 44.8 million cwt. of potatoes in storage June 1, down 11 percent from a year ago but 1 percent above June 1, 2007, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Potatoes in storage accounted for 12 percent of the 2008 fall storage States’ production, slightly below June 1, 2008. Potato disappearance, at 323 million cwt., was 7 percent below June 1, 2008, and down 6 percent from 2007. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 23.8 million cwt., was down 6 percent from the same date in 2008 and 7 percent below 2007.
Processors in the nine major states have used 169 million cwt. of potatoes this season, down
7 percent from both the same period last year and two years ago. Dehydrating usage accounted for 31.9 million cwt. of the total processing, down 16 percent from last year and 22 percent below the same period in 2007.
