North Carolina’s sweet potato harvest season is nearing completion with fresh pricing up substantially compared with a year ago.
The transition between old-crop and new-crop sweet potatoes was apparently lending support to pricing in early September. Harvest in North Carolina should continue to be active into November, and prices should ease with expanding supply and shipments.
USDA shipment statistics indicated that North Carolina accounted for two-thirds of total U.S fresh sweet potato shipments of 272 (40,000 truckloads) for the week ending Sept. 17
As of Sept. 3, the average fob price for U.S. fresh sweet potatoes was $60.56 per cwt (hundredweight), up 20.6% compared with the same time a year ago, according to numbers collected by the USDA. The Sept. 3 fob price of for sweet potatoes of $60.56 per cwt was nearly 30% higher than the $46.70 per cwt price in early August.
The USDA reported the average advertised retail price for fresh sweet potatoes was 94 cents per pound, down 8.7% from the same week a year ago.
Corey Produce of Bethel, N.C. reports increased moisture this year, should result in a slightly bigger sweet potato crop in 2022.
The company grows sweet potatoes in Martin, Pitt and Edgecombe counties in North Carolina, with its packinghouse located in Bethel N.C..
The company report this year’s crop looks a little better than last year’s crop, because last year was extremely dry in Martin County.
Corey Produce acreage is about the same as last year.
The operation began harvest September 12 and will be finishing harvest any day now.
Lancaster Farms of Wilson, N.C.-based reports a strong, quality sweet potato harvest. While acreage for the company is down, yields may be up 10%.
R.B. Lancaster and Sons Inc. family has lived and farmed in Wilson County, N.C., and the surrounding counties for seven generations, since the late 1700s.
The company has a four-year crop rotation, farming between 1,400 and 1,800 acres annually.
Harvest for Lancaster Farms started harvest Aug. 26 for early plantings and began harvest again Sept. 16, and wrapped up the harvest expected in late October.