The farm-level spud prices for the US Idaho state growers are up significantly since the global potato market is tight on supply.

During their usual price drop in the August-October period, Idaho Russet potato prices went down USD8 per 50 kilos bag in 2019, USD12 per 50 kilos bag during that period in 2020, but only USD3 per 50 kilos bag during that same time in 2021, according to a mid-December 2021 University of Idaho Ag Outlook Seminar presentation, cited by Intermountain Farm&Ranch.

The prices soared partway due to Idaho growers producing a smaller cultivar crop in 2021 compared with 2020. Idaho growers planted 127,574 hectares of potatoes in 2021, compared with 121,405 in 2020, but total statewide production decreased 2% in 2021 to 6,70m tons. Total US potato production also dropped, from 21,3m tons in 2020 to 20,9m tons in 2021.

That drop in Idaho potato production was due largely to last year’s drought conditions and unusually high summer temperatures, which sharply reduced average yields.

The Other Face of the Coin

Recent data shows that the 2021 Canada cultivars production should reach 27,1m tons, up from 26,6m tons counted for last year. Even in this favorable situation, due to major factors like the potato quarantine in Prince Edward Island (PEI), the flow of Canadian potatoes to processors in the United States has been reduced drastically.

On the other hand, the total potato production in the EU fell 7%, from 43,8m tons in 2020 to 40,7m tons, last year.

Based on this volatile worldwide market, the global farm-level potato prices went up. But the cost of production for spud farmers is also soaring, they say. That could place the spud farmers in the position to make some tough choices when it comes to deciding what to plant this year.