Rain and snow in eastern Canada, but also overcrowded warehouses and low market prices ensure that the last hectares (or Canadian acres) are not cleared. But even without these last potatoes, the Canadian potato harvest is the largest ever.
The United Potato Growers of Canada (UPC) reports this in a report on Canadian harvest progress. The harvest of consumption and seed potatoes has been adjusted downwards compared to the previous harvest forecast and amounts to 5,72 million tons of potatoes. Despite the downward adjustment, 2,6% more potatoes were harvested than last year and it remains the largest harvest ever.
The historically large harvest is due to area expansion and higher hectare yields. For example, production in the prairie provinces increased to 2,87 million tonnes, 12,8% more compared to the 2022 harvest. The increases come mainly from Saskatchewan and Alberta, with the latter province now having the most production. However, this creates an oversupply on the market. It has previously been suggested that potatoes were under-processed in the provinces of Manitoba and Alberta due to lack of demand and overcrowded warehouses. This has now been confirmed by the UPC. This would involve around 2.000 hectares, with the provinces in the same oversupply situation as growers in the American Pacific Northwest, where growers also do not get all the potatoes from the ground.
However, it is the last hectares that are not cleared due to weather issues that cause the current reduction in the harvest estimate. Rain and now snow in the eastern provinces will probably leave the last few thousand hectares in place. This is especially true of Prince Edward Island and neighboring New Brunswick. These two provinces have already received quite a bit of precipitation this season. It is not without reason that yields there are also a few percent lower than in 2022. In western Canada the harvest is almost ready. In addition, the UPC states that the seed potato yield spread across the country was good on average.