Negotiations between growers and Idaho processors have resulted in an average 3% reduction in the contract price, said Dan Hargraves, Southern Idaho Potato Cooperative executive director.
That means prices are down 20-40 cents per hundredweight, depending on the processor and grower, he said.
Hargraves said the net impact of the price reduction from 2020 to this year is about 7% because growers’ input costs have increased. Spring fertilizer costs are up 28%, labor is up 6.8% and equipment and fuel prices are up.
"Conservatively, we think our costs are up 4% for crop year 2021” overall, he said.
“And at the same time, we’re operating at less than full capacity, so it’s a difficult environment for these commercial potato farms,” he said.
Processors in the annual contract last year paid growers a price that was about 2% higher than that of 2019 in response to growers’ higher labor and machinery costs, but they contracted for fewer acres.
Compared to 2019, processors contracted for 10-50% fewer acres last year, depending on processor and grower.
Compared to last year, processors contracted for 5-38% more acres this year, Hargraves said.
Despite the increase in acreage from 2020 to 2021, growers will still be running at around 90% of their capitalized capacity, he said.
Idaho leads the nation in potato production. More than one-third of the state’s crop is grown for processing.
April 27, 2021 at 07:30AM
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Idaho processors to pay slightly less for potatoes - Capital Press
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