Chipping potato storage supplies continue to diminish. New crop harvesting has begun in California.

Storage crop

• Due to the Northwest’s record heatwave this past summer, this year’s storage crop did not produce enough stocks to ship through the transition to new crop spring/summer potatoes
• To extend storage supplies over the next few weeks, suppliers who still have potatoes on hand will be allocating or filling orders based on six-week averages
• Suppliers are sorting through product that would normally be culled out in order to fulfill orders
• Remaining stocks will exhibit multiple quality concerns:
  • Discoloration
  • Thin skins
  • Pressure and shoulder bruising
  • Mixed sizing

New crop

• New crop, fresh-run potato harvesting is underway in California
  • Early yields are thin-skinned, resulting in mechanical damage in pack-outs
  • The mechanical damage can develop into decay or mold, particularly when the potatoes ride on cold trucks
  • Skin sets will improve over the next few weeks
• Other growing regions such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas will start production over the next few weeks

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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