Market Update

Market Snapshot*

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was not reporting f.o.b. prices on sweet potatoes out of California, but 40-pound cartons of medium-size, uncured beauregard variety U.S. No. 1 from Mississippi were $16-17, and 40-pound cartons of medium-size, cured beauregard variety U.S. No. 1 from Mississippi were mostly $17-18.

*Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Fruit & Vegetable Market News, Oct. 15.

The Shipping Scene

California's sweet potato harvest is well under way, and growers are reporting good quality coupled with strong demand, which could mean higher prices this Thanksgiving than last year.

Doreva Produce Co. Inc., Livingston, started picking July 12 and will continue until the end of October, said Aaron Silva, sales manager. The company will ship sweet potatoes out of storage until June or July.

The crop is on schedule so far, he said, with nice quality and good yields. Sizing is average, he said, about the same as last year.

Some growers had to replant early in the season because of wind damage, Silva reported. There also was some frost during the planting stage, but, for the most part, weather has not been unusually hot or cold, and current conditions are ideal, he said. The company's volume should be similar to last year's.

Garcia Farms Produce, Livingston, was nearing the middle of its harvest this week and was as much as three weeks behind schedule, said Frank Mesa, sales manager.

That's because planting had to be postponed in the spring until cool weather dissipated. A mild summer further slowed things down. Harvesting now is expected to finish no sooner than Nov. 9 instead of late October.

Acreage will end up being about equal to last year's, but Mesa said quality should be much better because the potatoes have had more time to grow. So far, quality has been excellent.

Early sizing was smaller than usual, but sizes have improved, and texture and color also are nice on all varieties, he said. Quality was expected to remain good unless excessive rain hits the growing area. The red diane variety is particularly susceptible to rain.

Demand has been high for the early crop, and some retailers already have inquired about ads for Thanksgiving, Mesa said.

"People are getting proactive and trying to lock in quantities," he said.

Last year, the industry faced "critical shortages" late in the season, and Mesa said that scenario could repeat itself in 2008.

"We may run short," he said.

He expected good supplies until Easter, with volume likely tightening after the spring holiday.

California growers produce good-quality sweet potatoes in fertile, sandy soil, Mesa said. However, farmers are concerned about the possibility of another excessively dry year.

At $17 per 40-pound carton for No. 1 beauregard variety sweet potatoes, prices were up a bit over last year, he said.

Besides 40-pound cartons, Garcia Farms ships 10-, 15- and 20-pound consumer boxes and 3- and 5-pound bags.

Livingston Farmers Association in Livingston started picking sweet potatoes July 13, a week earlier than last year, said Raul Aguilar, manager of the sweet potato division.

Farmers were able to plant earlier - the first week of April - because of favorable weather, he said. Good weather prevailed throughout the spring. Picking will continue until the first week of November.

Aguilar expected better sizing and quality this season because farmers are switching over to improved seed varieties, weather has been good and growers are improving their cultural practices.

For the first six weeks of the harvest, sweet potatoes are shipped directly from the field, he said. After that, they ship out of storage. Aguilar said there is no difference in quality between fresh and storage product.

Last year, Livingston Farmers Association had product until June 17, Aguilar said.

Aguilar said 95% of the sweet potatoes he sells are Oriental sweet potatoes, and prices were running up to $5 a box higher than last year.

Indeed, prices on sweet potatoes, which typically drop off significantly after the opening weeks, were remaining strong this season as a result of increased demand, said Bob Weimer, an owner of Weimer Farms in Atwater and president of the Sweet Potato Council of California in Livingston.

Heavy demand from processors could create tight supplies for the fresh market, he said, and prices likely will be higher for Thanksgiving than they were last year.

Acreage is up this year - about 11,500 acres compared to 10,500 in 2006-2007 - but volume is similar to last year because of dry weather and other "field issues," Weimer said.

Sweet potatoes typically are available from California until late June or mid-July.

(By Tom Burfield, Western correspondent for The Packer. The Packer and Red Book Credit Services are part of food360º, a division of Vance Publishing Corp., Lincolnshire, Ill.)

Resources