COVID-19-induced market shifts continue to upend many aspects of the food supply chain, from widespread transportation hurdles complicating the movement of inputs and goods to the lingering pressures of underlying inflation on consumer purchasing behavior. USDA’s latest Cold Storage Report reveals the impacts of these factors and others, such as the past year’s drought, on stores of some core food items, says the American Farm Bureau Federation in recent news article.
Unlike the higher cash receipts received overall for livestock products and most row crops, total fruit and vegetable receipts are expected to drop about 10% each from 2020 or by just over $4 billion across both categories.
The Farm Bureau says potatoes have been able to buck the price drop trend amongst vegetables. The 2% smaller crop from 2020 (a fourth consecutive annual decline) combined with strong North American and international processing demand lifted U.S. seasonal-average potato prices above $10/cwt for an average 14% price increase between 2020 and 2021.
Drought in large potato-producing states like Washington and Idaho, which account for 55% of U.S. production, dropped their potato production rates by 9% and 7%, respectively. Paralleling production declines, potato stocks have dropped 5% from last year and 6% from the five-year (2015-2020) average.
Record prices are expected into 2022 as demand continues to bite in a smaller supply.
Source: American Farm Bureau Federation. Read the full article here
Image: Courtesy American Farm Bureau Federation
