US Potato Stocks and Potato Processing, February 2011

US Potato Stock (national)

The 13 major potato States held 176 million cwt of potatoes in storage February 1, 2011, down 14 percent from a year ago. Potatoes in storage accounted for 50 percent of the 2010 fall storage States' production, three percentage points below February 1, 2010. Klamath Basin stocks totaled 2.50 million cwt on February 1, 2011, down 11 percent from a year ago. Klamath Basin stocks include potatoes stored in California and Klamath County, Oregon.



Idaho Potato Stocks Down 18 Percent from Last Year

Potato stocks held by growers, dealers, and processors in Idaho on February 1 totaled 64.0 million cwt, 14.5 million cwt less than onhand February 1, 2010. This is the lowest February 1 stocks level since 1989. Disappearance, at 50.4 million cwt is down from lastyear’s 54.0 million cwt. Stocks in the 10 Southwest counties totaled 3.00 million cwt, up from last year’s 2.90 million cwt. The Othercounties’ stocks, at 61.0 million cwt, were down from the 75.6 million cwt stored on February 1, 2010.

Potato Stocks North Dakota

North Dakota growers, dealers and processors held 10.3 million cwt of potatoes in storage February 1, 2011, up 14 percent from a year ago, but down 1 percent from 2009. Current stocks represent 47 percent of the production, the same as 2010 but up 1 percent from 2009.

Total stocks are defined as all potatoes on hand, regardless of use, including those that will be lost through future shrinkage and dumping.

Comparing stocks by type, russets accounted for 68 percent of the total, down 3 percent from 2010 and 5 percent from 2009. Round whites were 13 percent of the total, up from 9 percent in 2010, and from 6 percent in 2009. Long whites were 5 percent, the same as 2010 and down from 7 percent in 2009. All white potatoes, at 18 percent of total stocks were up from both 14 percent in 2010 and 13 percent in 2009. Reds, at 13 percent of total stocks, were down from 14 percent last year and the same as two years ago. Yellows, at 1 percent, were the same as both 2010 and 2009.

Potato Disapearance (national)

Potato disappearance, at 176 million cwt, was 3 percent below February 1, 2010. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 16.6 million cwt, was down 12 percent from the same date in 2010.

US Potato Processing (national)

Processors in the 9 major States have used 91.9 million cwt of potatoes this season, up 1 percent from the same period last year. Dehydrating usage accounted for 13.6 million cwt of the total processing, down 20 percent from last year.



Potato Processing Idaho

Processors in Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon used 5.86 million cwt of 2010 crop raw potatoes during January, down 2.2 percentfrom January 2010. Processors in Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon have used 32.7 million cwt of 2010 crop raw potatoes to February 1, down 7.0 percent from last year. Idaho potatoes accounted for 28.0 million cwt of the total processed. The remaining 4.70 million cwt were produced in other states.