Potato Stocks Jump 17%

WASHINGTON - May 15/08 - SNS -- Potatoes on hand in all positions jumped 17% above year earlier levels on May 1 to 92.7 million cwt (100 pound units) in the 13 major producing states in the United States, according to the USDA.

Potatoes in storage accounted for 23% of the 2007 fall storage States' production, up 3 percentage points from last year. Klamath Basin stocks totaled 570 thousand cwt on May 1, 2008, down 5% from last year. Klamath Basin stocks include potatoes stored in California and Klamath County, Oregon.

Disappearance from the start of harvest to May 1 was at 307 million cwt, 1% below last year but up 3% from 2006. Shrink and loss, at 23.4 million cwt, was down 3% from the same period in 2007 but up 6% from 2006.

Processors have used 158 million cwt of the 2007 potato crop so far this season, down 3% from last year's season-to-date usage but up 6% from 2 years ago. Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon total processing decreased 1% from a year ago and Maine's total processing was 3% below 2007. Washington and the rest of Oregon total processing was 4% lower than last season. Dehydrating usage accounted for 33.4 million cwt of the total processing, down 8% from last year but 11% above the same period in 2006.

Subscribers can read the full text of the article by Clicking here