Washington’s Potato Use Balance Outweighs Supply

In Washington, on February 1 potato stocks totaled 2m tons, but the use balance (disappearance) to date totaled 2,665m tons.

On the other hand, the potato stocks in Idaho on February 1, 2022, totaled 3,5m tons, and the use balance of the state’s crop to date was 2,945m tons, according to USDA-NASS latest report. February 1 potato stocks in Oregon totaled 705,000 tons. Disappearance to date was 615,000 tons.

“Nationally, the 13 major potato States held 9,9m tons in the storage on February 1, 2022, down 3% from February 1, 2021,” the same data shows. “Potatoes in storage accounted for 48% of the States' 2021 production compared with 49% a year earlier. The indicated potato disappearance, at 10,55m tons, was down 2% from the same period last year.”

Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 790,000 tons, was 2% higher than the same time last year.

Processors in Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon used 2,08m tons of potatoes for the season, down slightly from February 2021. In Washington and other Oregon counties, 2,485m tons of potatoes had been used by processors for the season, up 10% from the previous year.

“Processors in the 8 States used 5,7m tons of potatoes for the season, up 6% from February 2021,” USDA-NASS experts concluded.