Apr 19, 2021USDA estimates US potato stocks about 5% higher than last year
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that U.S. potato producers had about 133 million cwt (hundredweight) of potato stocks left from the 2020 crop as of April 1, 2021, up 5% from the same time last year.
While stocks are slightly elevated from a year ago, demand during April, May and June in 2020 was highly irregular due to COVID-related effects in retail and processing.
Potato stocks in Idaho — the U.S.’s top potato-producing state — totaled 51 million cwt on April 1, 2021. Disappearance of the Idaho crop to date was 83.8 million cwt.
Potato stocks in Oregon totaled 5.7 million cwt. Disappearance to date was 21.3 million cwt.
In Washington, potato stocks totaled 31.0 million cwt. Disappearance to date totaled 67.6 million cwt.
Nationally, the major potato states held 133 million cwt of potatoes in storage. Potatoes in storage accounted for 32% of the 2020 storage states’ production, compared to 30% from the previous year. Potato disappearance to date totaled 281 million cwt. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 20.0 million cwt, was 8% higher than 2020.
Processors in Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon used 57.3 million cwt of potatoes for the season, up 3% from April 1, 2020. In Washington and other Oregon counties, 60.8 million cwt of potatoes had been used by processors for the season, down 10% from the previous year.
Processors in the eight major states used 146 million cwt of potatoes for the season, down 6% from April 1, 2020.
Dehydrated usage accounted for 26.5 million cwt of the total potatoes processed, up 4% from the previous year.
Overall potato stocks in storage for most of the major potato-producing states as of April 1:
- Idaho: 51.0 million cwt, up 6%
- Washington: 31.0 million cwt, up 9%
- Wisconsin: 12.3 million cwt, up 24%
- Colorado: 9.0 million cwt, up 53%
- North Dakota: 7.9 million cwt, up 34%
- Minnesota: 6.4 million cwt, up 12%
- Oregon: 5.7 million cwt, down 32%
- Michigan: 3.3 million cwt, down 15%
- Maine: 3.1 million cwt, down 51%
- Nebraska: 2.4 million cwt, up 4%
