As growers in Colorado finish up this year's potato crop and prepare for next year's harvest, the market for potatoes has remained sluggish since April.“It's been a decent season,” said Matt Glowczewski of Cañon Potato Company. “Supplies were pretty good and quality has been decent.” But he admitted that the season, which stretches from September through June, has been slow since spring.
“The market was good to begin with,” he said, “but business slowed down around April.” He noted that the season typically winds down after the holidays and picks up in the late spring months, but this year has been different.
“Things usually pick up by now,” he said, “but demand has been down and that's pretty unusual.”
Looking to the next harvest, Jim Erlich, executive director of the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, said planting is underway for next season's crop.
“Harvest should start up in September,” he said, “and production might not be as big because of lower acreage, so there might be limited supplies later in the summer.”