The potato harvest in the United States is still almost 750.000 tons larger than previously estimated. In Idaho, Oregon and Washington in particular, substantial yields were still achieved during the harvesting of late-sown potatoes. Incidentally, the harvest is still 2,8% below the level of last year.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revised its potato harvest forecast upwards. Analysts expect a potato harvest of approximately 2020 million tons for 18,8, which is a positive adjustment of 742.984 tons compared to the previous expectation. The 2020 harvest is still 541.589 tons below the level of the 2019 season (-2,8%). According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the average yield is 50,6 tons per hectare. This is almost equal to the hectare yield in 2019, but slightly lower than the 20-year average.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture has also adjusted the expectations for the area. The new figures show that the planted area is said to amount to 373.524 hectares, an increase of 809 hectares compared to previous forecasts. Compared to 2019, a negative difference of 16.308 hectares is still visible. According to analysts, the harvested area amounts to 370.570 hectares, a positive adjustment of 2.185 hectares.
Idaho, Washington and Oregon
The potato area of more than 121.000 hectares in Idaho (due to favorable conditions) reportedly leads to a yield of 6,1 million tons of potatoes. That is 255.000 tons more than in 2019 (or an increase of 4,3%). The USDA expects an average yield of 50,8 tons per hectare, a positive difference of more than 3 tons compared to last year. If the estimate is correct, this would mean record revenue. However, several insiders believe the yield is lower. Trial harvests in the state showed yields of approximately 49 tons per hectare. This is still higher than last season, but lower than the record from 2018.
Oregon and Washington also stand out. There are also doubts about the USDA data in Oregon. For that region, a hectare yield of 69,4 tons per hectare is assumed, which is slightly more than the 65,9 tons of last season. In Washington, 69,9 tons per hectare is expected, compared to 71,3 tons in the 2019 harvest. Although there is uncertainty about the accuracy of this data, insiders do indicate that the yield towards the end of the season was significantly better than expected. Collectively, the so-called 'Columbia Basin' amounts to 5,6 million tons, which is 280.000 tons less than in the 2019 harvest (-4,7%).