Production and marketing are both in positive places for the Colorado potato industry. Jim Ehrlich, the executive director of the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, said June 24 that the 2020 crop “looks really, really good. It has been extremely dry and warmer than normal. But the crop is growing really well.” Tad Thompson reports for The Produce News.
Some parts of Colorado’s potato growing area suffered a June 6 hailstorm, “but that came back really well.”
As Americans were homebound with the COVID-19 lockdown in March and April, they responded by buying a lot of fresh potatoes for home-cooked meals, Ehrlich said. Thus, Colorado potato storages emptied at a rate 40 percent faster than normal.
“It was a pleasant surprise how the demand for fresh potatoes rose when people were eating at home and enjoying potatoes. We hope that trend continues,” he said.
By late June, as foodservice operators begin to reopen “we’re optimistic about how the country might rebound,” Ehrlich said.
Read the full report in The Produce News here
Photo: The Produce News
