Fresh Potato Consumer Profile

Grocery retailers sell more potatoes by volume than any other vegetable. 80% of consumers report eating potatoes once a week and almost 80% of households buy fresh potatoes annually in grocery stores. Knowing how potatoes impact the overall basket size—as well as what drives consumers to buy more potatoes—helps plan for long-term future sales.

Basket Size

Baskets containing potatoes are more than twice as valuable to grocery stores as those without.
The only vegetable with larger basket sizes is lettuce.

Potato Market Update

Supplies of storage crop russet potatoes continue to wind down in Wisconsin and the Northeast growing region. Supplies remain in Colorado and Idaho for the remainder of the month or until new crop russet potatoes are available. Pricing continues to be at record levels.

Growing conditions appear favorable in Idaho and Colorado. Growers in the Midwest and the Northeast are experiencing dry conditions, but nothing has affected the crop. The russet pipeline will not be replenished until mid to late September.

Storage crop yellow potato supplies are winding down in North Dakota and Canada. New Crop is available in North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, with new crops soon available from the Midwest. Pricing remains very strong due to the extremely low supplies.

New crop white potatoes are available in California, North Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. The majority of these supplies remain near their shipping points. Pricing continues to be unchanged.

New crop fingerling potatoes are available in California, New Mexico, and North Carolina. Although new crop is available, it doesn’t mean supplies are abundant. Fingerling potato inventory remains short in all shipping regions, thus elevated pricing.

Onion Market Update

California and New Mexico growers have new crop supplies of yellow, red, and white onions. The overall market has been strong and is expected to remain strong throughout July. Medium-sized onions are in tight supply, with the larger sizes having more availability.