Greg Paul Produce Sales of Stockton, CA began shipping potatoes about two weeks earlier than usual this season and expects to continue until September 5.
The strategy was for some of the shipper’s proprietary varieties to get into an earlier window than they have in the past and it it successfully worked out.
The company has a minor increase in acreage because of some field rotation ability. However overall in Northern California, there was a significant acreage decrease following the departure of a major grower/shipper/packer in the region with approximately 1,000 acres going out of business last year.
n turn, demand is expected to be strong for red, white and gold potatoes for a number of reasons, including the closure of that business.
The current Russet potato situation is also factoring into that demand. While Russets are not a type of potato the company grows/ships, what happens with this variety impacts the category given its dominance in the category.