Thirteen major potato states in US hold 280 million cwt. of potatoes in storage as of Dec. 1, up 11% from year-ago period, USDA says; potatoes account for 68% of fall storage production

Nevin Barich

WASHINGTON , December 18, 2012 (press release) – Michigan’s 2012 potato crop is forecast to be 16.3 million hundredweight (cwt), about eight percent higher than 2011, according to Jay Johnson, Director of the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Planted acres, at 47,500, increased 2,500 acres, while harvested acres, at 44,000, increased 2,000 acres from a year ago. The average yield is forecast at 355 cwt per acre, up 10 cwt per acre from last year.

Potato Stocks in Michigan on December 1, 2012, were estimated at 9.7 million hundredweight (cwt), up 13 percent from last year’s 8.6 million cwt. December’s stocks represented 59 percent of the total production. Stocks include potatoes stored by both processors and growers. Stocks by type as percent of total stocks were 86 percent round whites, 13 percent russets, and 1 percent reds.

The 13 major potato States held 280 million cwt of potatoes in storage December 1, 2012, up 11 percent from a year ago. Potatoes in storage accounted for 68 percent of the 2012 fall storage States' production, two percentage points above December 1, 2011. Potato disappearance, at 132 million cwt, was 2 percent above December 1, 2011. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 13.7 million cwt, was unchanged from the same date in 2011. Processors in the 9 major States have used 73.2 million cwt of potatoes this season, down 4 percent from the same period last year. Dehydrating usage accounted for 13.5 million cwt of the total processing, up 1 percent from last year.

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