North Carolina's sweet potato supplies seem to be holding up well. Two hurricanes hit North Carolina during the sweet potato harvest last year, which left a big mark on growers. As North America enters spring, suppliers expect volume to remain robust up until late summer, so there will not likely be any shortfall for some time.
"We will hopefully have good supplies until the second week of August," shared Kristi Hocutt of Triple J Produce. "Therefore, spring supplies are looking good. We still have our usual Covington, Garnet and Murasaki varieties available and in good supply, along with our organic Covingtons. All varieties are enjoying strong demand but Covington remains the variety attracting the most buyers."
Another bit of good news is that quality is also remaining good, despite initial concerns that some of the crop may have been damaged by all the water. "The quality seems to be pretty fair," Hocutt noted. "We were a bit nervous at the start of the season, but so far, it's been good."
Market better than previous years
As supplies remain solid, the market is also steady, with prices sitting at levels higher than previous years. Demand is strong but it hasn't translated into very high prices yet. Exports are limited given the careful management of supplies to make sure they last all season.
"The market is probably a little lower than we would have hoped for, but we will take it as it's been better than the last few years," Hocutt said. "We haven't been able to get as much volume to our export customers as we would have liked. Demand is up but supply is down."
Moving forward
As the season progresses, growers say they are hoping the market remains as steady as it is right now. There is still a long way to go until the next harvest, so supply levels will continue to be monitored as the months progress. In the meantime, it will shortly be planting season for North Carolina's growers.
"I just hope with the new growing season upon us that us packers can continue to keep the pricing where it is or higher no matter the acreage that will be harvested," Hocutt concluded. "There is no reason to have pricing like it has been the past few years, considering how high demand still is both domestically and overseas. Triple J Produce will likely be introducing a few new things this year, but these will be revealed at a later date."
For more information:
Kristi Hocutt
Triple J Produce
Ph: +1 (252) 289-8326
kristi@triplejproduce.com
www.triplejproduce.com