Potato Markets Strong Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The U.S. potato industry has seen quite the turnaround in volume the past year with a pretty healthy rebound.Kim Brashears, Chief Marketing Officer at Potatoes USA, says it’s really been an up and down, OR down and up year for potatoes …
BRASHEARS … “2023 was kind of the tale of two stories. We had a tight crop year a year ago, so we didn’t have quite as many potatoes available. This year, the crop is larger than it was previously, so we have quite a few potatoes to promote. But throughout that all, the demand among consumers for potatoes has remained quite strong.”
But consumers, Brashears says have really hung in there …
BRASHEARS … “For consumers, you know, the price of goods is obviously higher than it’s been before. As it relates to potatoes, it’s still one of the more affordable products that’s available to them, particularly in the produce department. Yes, there have been price increases for consumers, but there’ve been prices increases for all products that are out there.”
And that, Brashears says is helpful …
BRASHEARS … “So, consumers are appreciating the affordability of the product and the deliciousness they’ve always appreciated about it to keep purchases active throughout this time frame.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on why potatoes are still America’s number one vegetable and show no signs of slowing down.