U.S. potato shipments are remaining fairly steady week to week with total shipments quite similar to a year ago….Meanwhile, here is a look at Mexican produce items crossing the border in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Roughly the same amount of U.S. potatoes remain in storages to be shipped from the major potato states that existed at this same time in 2017 as of February 1st.
Storages held 202.55 million cwt. (per hundredweight) at the beginning of February, compared to storages holding 203.10 million cwt. a year earlier. Potatoes remaining to be shipped accounted for 51 percent of the volume by fall storage states, only one percent more than 2017. Potato disappearance is down three percent to 197 million cwt., and season-to-date shrink (loss of product due to quality) has also fallen, down five percent from 2017 to 15.4 million cwt.
The 13 key fall crop producing states listed in the USDA report account for 91 percent of all potato volume.
The leading potato shipping areas last week shipped about the following number of truck load equivalents: Idaho, 1750; Colorado, 625; Columbia Basin (Washington) and Umatilla Basin (Oregon), 340; Wisconsin, 285; Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota, 250; and Nebraska, 185.
San Luis Valley of Colorado potatoes – grossing about $2400 to Chicago.
Stevens Point, WI potatoes – grossing about $3200 to Atlanta.
Rio Grande Valley
Mexican vegetable shipments and tropical fruits are crossing the border at Pharr, in South Texas, on a fairly steady basis from week to week, although volume is not exceptionally heavy on most items. The biggest tonnage is coming from tomatoes and avocadoes. Both commodities are averaging about 1,000 truck loads per week. Tomatoes consist primarily of vine ripes, followed by plum or romas. However, keep in mind the Mexican avocado loadings will soon start declining as the season comes to an end before returning in a few months.
Mexican strawberries are amounting nearly 450 truck loads weekly, with limes have similar, but increasing volume. Otherwise, there are watermelons and cucumbers, with a host of other items with much smaller volume.
In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas grapefruit amounts to around 250 truck load weekly, with much smaller volume found with oranges.
South Texas and Mexican produce – grossing about $5700 to New York City.