The 2019 sweet potato crop in the United States was good, but not as good as producers were hoping. This is the general consensus on the current season, which follows a really though season in 2018. Joshua Wright of Ham Farms says: “Last season, despite tough conditions in the 2018 season, we were able to go crop to crop, but it was really tight. This year’s growing season wasn’t as favorable as we’d hoped, and the supplies will be tight as well – though according to our projections we should be able to go crop to crop again this year.”
Good domestic market, tough export market
North Carolina’s sweet potatoes are destined both for the domestic and the international market. This year, so far, the majority of the potatoes have stayed in the U.S. Wright explains: “The pricing here in the States is good, but the export prices don’t justify the transit times, risk, and other aspects that come into the export process.”
The reason for the lower pricing on the international market is lower pricing on the Spanish and Egyptian crops. The European market absorbed a lot of these crops over the U.S. crop this year, Wright shares. “The Spanish and Egyptian crops had good quality this year, though we have heard there’s been some inconsistency in the quality throughout the season. But their prices are much lower than ours and for customers who are very price-oriented we just can’t compete. There are always customers who will look for specifically look for the U.S. sweet potatoes, but when customers make their orders based off of pricing only, the U.S. product can’t compete with that of Spain and Egypt.”
The Spanish and Egyptian season are drawing to a close now and this provides a prime opportunity for the U.S. to start focusing on their exports more. “With Fruit Logistica being this week, we are able to connect with our European customers, who comprise our biggest export market, and we expect to be able to increase our volumes going overseas soon.”
Weather issues bring challenges
Ham Farms has kept their acreage steady – neither reducing nor increasing their plantings. “Even though demand is picking up, under normal growing circumstances the yield and quality should be improving by the year,” says Wright. Unfortunately, the 2018 and the 2019 seasons did not have normal growing conditions. “This season mirrored the 2018 conditions, but on a smaller scale,” says Wright.
This season, due to the low volumes of the 2018 season, many growers planted early and harvested early to avoid a gap in supply. “This did cause some sizing issues, and across the board for the industry sizing will be a challenge this year,” says Wright. Fortunately, Ham Farms has their own pureeing and dehydration facilities which gives them the opportunity to use all their sweet potatoes. “We harvest all the sweet potatoes, even the ones that don’t have optimal sizing or quality. We are able to direct these to the processing facilities, and this allows us to maximize our entire crop.”
He adds: “Our main focus is taking care of our established customers first, before we look toward adding new business. Building long-term relationships and showing the customers that you are reliable through both good and bad times is what is most important to us.”
Growth in organic processed market
Ham Farms markets their organic potatoes under the Prime Organics label. “Ham’s Yams is our label for the conventional sweet potatoes, but we wanted to really distinguish our organics and so they have their own label. We have been seeing a tremendous growth on the processing side of the organic demand – the pureed organics, for example, have skyrocketed. The fresh side of the market hasn’t grown as much, though, due to the high prices – which counts for both the conventional and organic sweet potatoes.”
Fruit Logistica 2020
Europe is the biggest export destination for Ham Farms’ products – which go beyond just sweet potatoes. “We have the network to export all kinds of products, not just sweet potatoes,” says Wright.
The company will be a part of the U.S. pavilion, located in Hall 23, A-10. “We are looking forward to seeing where the trends are in the market, such as with sizing and pricing. Of course, we’re always looking to gain market share and garner new business and we are interested in entering new areas. Overall, the show is always hugely beneficial for us and it’s almost impossible to leave the show without new connections or useful information,” Wright concludes.
Find Ham Farms at Fruit Logistica 2020, in Hall 23, A-10.
For more information:
Joshua Wright
Ham Farms
Tel: +1 (252) 747-8200
Email: joshua@hamfarms.com
www.hamfarms.com