Retail Potato Sales Higher and CFAP-2 in First Month
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Consumers continue buying more fresh potatoes during the COVID-19 pandemic, boosting sales in most fresh categories and pushing sales of all potato products to five-year records.
According to thepacker.com, the latest retail report from Potatoes USA charts the category’s growth from July through September as consumers continue spending more at retail and less in restaurants.
Total store potato sales increased 13.6% in dollar sales and 10.6% in volume sales, compared to last year.
https://www.thepacker.com/article/pandemic-purchases-boost-potato-sales-past-5-year-records?mkt/
**In the first month of the application period, the USDA Farm Service Agency approved more than $7 billion in payments to more than 443,000 producers in Round 2 of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
CFAP 2 provides ag producers with up to $14-billion in financial assistance to help absorb some of the increased marketing costs associated with COVID-19.
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says this program builds on over $10 billion disbursed under the first round.
**Three national restaurant chains are suing major poultry processors including Tyson Foods and Pilgrim's Pride in two anti-trust lawsuits.
Cracker Barrel, Golden Corral and White Castle filed the suits in the US District Court of Northern Illinois seeking the return of overcharges paid on artificially inflated poultry prices.
The companies suspect the conspiracy has been going on since at least 2012, but the issue was not brought to attention until this month’s indictment.
