It's anticipated that the North Carolina sweet potato supply will go crop to crop without issues. "We're sitting good but not great," says 3 Star Produce's Josh Wright. "However I think with the late push into the export market, it's kept inventories in a way that we don't feel a tremendous amount of pressure right now."
This comes amidst a good crop for the state this season with strong quality, even following the growing conditions in North Carolina this season. "We had a tremendous amount of rain initially and then there was a long period of drought and then rain at the end as well," says Wright. "It wasn't a consistent growth season and with that, there are always concerns on what is going to happen in storage and what's going to happen towards the end of the crop. We look at that every year but with the conditions we've had, we're keeping a closer eye on it for issues and so far we haven't seen any."
Meanwhile, export demand is starting to strengthen with both Spain and Egypt reaching the end of their sweet potato crops. "Egypt has a pretty good amount of inventory left but this is the time that retailers and wholesalers who import start looking at the U.S.," Wright said.
© 3 Star Produce
The state of domestic demand
At the same time, domestic demand is also increasing and Wright adds that there's been a shift in the timing of overseas demand to later in the year for product from the U.S.
However, there are concerns in exports though over transit. Transit times have been long due to a number of issues, from high seas to port congestion. "Hopefully the weather patterns have calmed down and we can start getting back on time. That would help us more than anything else," Wright says.
As for pricing, while last year saw historically high prices, this year prices are still stronger-than-average market and that may be the new average going forward. This would be a welcome development for growers and shippers who are still managing increasing input costs.
For more information:
Josh Wright
3 Star Produce
Tel: 1+919-223-8555
https://3starproduce.com/
