September shows slow U.S. potato exports

The volume of U.S. potato and product exports fell in September 2017 compared to the year before, according to numbers released by Potatoes USA.

Exports by category

• Exports of frozen products were down 4 percent, but remain up 1 percent for the first quarter of the marketing year.
• Dehy exports were up 1 percent for September and remain up 9 percent for the marketing year to date.
• Fresh (both table-stock and chip-stock) exports were down 9 percent for September but are still up 22 percent marketing year to date.

“Expanding world demand for potatoes and products will remain strong in the coming year; however, prospects for U.S. export growth in the 2017/18 marketing year are blurred by the tight raw product supply in the U.S. and the very large crop in the European Union,” Potatoes USA wrote in the report.

The numbers also showed a decline in September exports of frozen products was led by a 31 percent decline to China, a 40 percent decline to South Korea, a 20 percent decline to Taiwan, a 16 percent decline to Central America and a 13 percent decline to Thailand. There were bright spots however.

Year over year export increases by country

• 15 percent to Mexico
• 24 percent to the Philippines
• 11 percent to Japan
• 91 percent to Indonesia

A decline in dehy exports for September was led by a 39 percent decline to Mexico, a 36 percent decline to China and a 14 percent decline to Japan. On the positive side, exports saw a 51 percent increase to South Korea, a 139 percent increase to Malaysia and a 397 percent increase to the Philippines.  For fresh, the two largest markets, Canada and Mexico, were down 19 percent and 9 percent respectively. Central America was down 38 percent, Malaysia was down 27 percent, the Philippines were down 49 percent and Indonesia was down 66 percent.  On the positive side for fresh, exports saw a 93 percent increase to South Korea, a 14 percent increase to Taiwan and a 162 percent increase to Thailand.

For further details, see the full reports for fresh exports, frozen exports and dehy exports.