US: Washington State potato supplies could be tight this marketing season

Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, said the 2015 harvest has generally been picture perfect. “This was one of the smoothest harvest seasons we’ve had in Washington,” he told The Produce News. “There were no major delays, and the crop got into the barn much earlier than normal.” He provided some additional insights about the crop. “The crop looks good, but yields are down due to the high heat we experienced this summer,” Voigt continued. “The USDA announced [the week of Nov. 8] that per acre yields were down about 4 percent in Washington state. I think that number surprised a lot of us. We were expecting the crop yield to be down maybe 7-9 percent. Even if the USDA numbers are correct, supplies will be tight this marketing season.” More