U.S. retail sales of potatoes from July 2024 to March 2025 reflected a varied market dynamic. While dollar sales experienced a minor reduction of 0.5% totaling $14.72 billion, overall retail volume rose by 2.3%, indicating persistent consumer demand for potatoes.
During this period, sales volume experienced growth in fresh potatoes (+2%), chips (+2.6%), and frozen potatoes (+4.9%). In contrast, deli-prepared sides and dehydrated potatoes saw volume decreases of -4.5% and -2.7%, respectively. The impacts were minimized as these categories represent less than 6% and 1% of total volume sales.
There was a rise in dollar sales for potato chips (+1.6%) and refrigerated/deli potatoes (+2.3%), while fresh potatoes saw a decline of -4.7% and dehydrated potatoes -3.2% in dollar sales.
Consumer potato prices fell each quarter compared to the previous year, leading to an average price drop of 2.8% to $2.26 per pound. Specifically, fresh potatoes saw a price reduction to $0.89 per pound, significantly impacting russets, which decreased by 13.6%. The only categories with price increments were refrigerated/deli potatoes (+1.5%) and deli-prepared sides (+1.9%).
Examining pack sizes, volume sales rose for all except five-pound and packs greater than 10 pounds. Notably, eight-pound packs increased by 18.5%, followed by a 10.8% rise in two- to four-pound packs and a 6.4% increase for packs ranging between one and less than two pounds.
The fresh potato category experienced varied performances, with russets (+4.3%), yellows (+3.9%), and petites (+7.3%) increasing in volume, while reds (-14%), whites (-3.2%), medleys (-7.6%), and purples (-9.3%) faced declines. Despite lower prices, dollar sales dropped by 4.7% overall, with decreases recorded for russets (-9.9%), whites (-11.9%), reds (-8.8%), purples (-8.5%), and medleys (-2.9%). Yellows, petites, and fingerlings saw increases of +5.7%, +3.4%, and +2.4%, respectively.
For chips, frozen, and dehydrated potatoes, consumer prices decreased with chips reducing to $6.61 per pound (-0.96%), frozen to $2.20 per pound (-4.8%), and dehydrated to $5.15 per pound (-0.5%). Meanwhile, refrigerated potatoes and deli-prepared sides experienced slight price increases.
Source: Morning AgClips
