Nov 29, 2024Report: US potato exports fell by 4.1% in third quarter of 2024
U.S. exports of potatoes and potato products fell by 4.1% during the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest North American Potato Market News report.
The total value of potato exports totaled $600 million during the quarter, down 1.3% from the previous year. Fresh potato exports fell 9.4% short of year-earlier shipments during the third quarter, according to the report.
Increased shipments to Mexico were more than offset by reduced exports to Canada. French fry and other frozen product exports exceeded year-earlier shipments by 3.6%, while dehydrated potato product exports fell 9.7% below 2024 shipments, to 79.96 million pounds.
Third-quarter potato chip exports — mostly product fabricated from potato flakes — fell 25.5% below year-earlier sales.
Thanksgiving table potato movement peaked last week, with U.S. packers shipping 2.230 million cwt of table potatoes during the week ending Nov. 23. That is up from 1.339 million cwt shipped a year earlier. The large difference is because Thanksgiving was five days earlier in 2023.
Michigan packers shipped 93,109 cwt of potatoes during the week ending Nov. 23, up from 41,050 cwt shipped during the same week in 2023. Last week’s Michigan shipments were 87.5% russets, 10.3% round whites, 2.1% yellow potatoes, and 0.1% red potatoes.
