Washington potato season running hard

Demand is staying strong and likely will throughout the end of the season for Washington colored potatoes. “We’re currently running product from storage and it seems everyone who is running potatoes is running a little harder than normal,” says Dale Hayton of Valley Pride Northwest Produce in Mount Vernon, Wa. “It just seems like a faster paced season than what we normally experience. Some sheds are already done now and more and more will fall off by the middle to end of April and then there’ll be very few left. Normally there are supplies generally available into May and even June, but I don’t think this year that’s going to happen.”

The pull on potatoes could be due to the fact that Hayton thinks fewer acres were planted. “And there are fewer cellars than there once were, and there were probably less supplies in fewer hands overall,” he says. “I also think there was some early crop damage out of the upper Midwest and that further reduced some supplies and I think that may have helped the demand.”

Pricing bumped up slightly
Not surprisingly, pricing has been above average and stable most of the season running approximately 10 per cent higher. “And while oftentimes in February, it can get a little slow and it was slower than normal here, but I don’t think it affected price a whole lot,” adds Hayton.

And while the potato industry is anticipating its annual bump in sales due to events such as St. Patrick’s Day, they anticipate the push will stay strong. “March is usually a good month in terms of moving potatoes and this year has been even above that a little bit,” he says.

For more information:
Dale Hayton
Valley Pride Northwest Produce
Tel: +1-360-428-2717
dale@valleypridesales.com
http://www.valleypridesales.com/