On December 1, 2022, total Canadian potato storage holdings were somewhat higher than in 2021, but they were still 11.7% higher than the three-year average.
Given the short crop in the US, demand is generally strong for both fresh and processed spuds, and the experts can see the pull in Eastern Canada with little over 26% of inventories already dispatched based on harvest data up to this point.
Only Alberta and Manitoba have seen an increase in the number of potatoes in storage as of December 1st when compared directly to 2021 figures, but all provinces, except for British Columbia, are still significantly above the 3-year average for holdings at this time of year. In 2022, 99% of the crop was able to be stored thanks to favorable harvest conditions, and quality reports are quite positive across the board.
Although many provinces had a difficult start to the growing season this year, overall fresh holdings (potatoes meant for table usage) in Canada on December 1, 2022, are still 9.1% higher than the 3-yr average. Although it appears that Eastern Canada has decreased dramatically in the Fresh sector when compared year over year, this is most likely because of robust exports in November before the American Thanksgiving holiday.
“Overall we can see the numbers are on par with previous years, the change is based a great deal on very good yields in 2021 compared to average yields in 2022. On a percentage basis, Alberta and Manitoba have the largest increases after experiencing a very good growing season, particularly after such a late planting during a cold and wet spring. Quebec, British Columbia, and Ontario all experienced declines in the fresh sector this year, mostly due to weather with acres lost either early on in planting from too much precipitation or later in August and September due to not enough rain. It is interesting to note the increase both year over year and versus the 3-year average for the fresh sector in Alberta who are well known for their processing acres,” according to a recent UPGC release.
Canadian Processing Potatoes Holdings Rose
Holdings of potatoes intended for processing have only increased by 25,000 tons, or 1.0%, compared to 2021 levels, indicating a competitive market for this industry, as has been the case across the country. Lower harvest yields and a higher pull of potatoes into the plants during November may be the cause of New Brunswick’s biggest decline of just over 8%. The 3.21m tons in storage as of December 1st is still 12.1% over the 3-year average, demonstrating the ongoing rise in demand in the processing sector and consequently greater planted acres.
“Although the number of processing potatoes compared to the 3-year average has increased across the country when compared to 2021 levels at this same time all provinces except Alberta and PEI are reporting decreases in their potatoes available for processing. There continues to be a very tight market across the continent in the processing sector and, despite having the largest increase in potatoes on hand in Alberta, it may still require Western Canada to import potatoes to keep their expanded processing plants running at full capacity,” the UPGC experts say.
More Canadian Seeding Cultivars
A total of 613,200 tons of cultivar seeds are in stock as of December 1, 2022, which is 8.2% more than the previous year and 9.1% more than the 3-year average. The amount of stock on PEI for December is larger than it was at that time in 2021 because of ongoing restrictions on shipments of the island and extremely good crop yields overall. With just over 21,280 tons of potato seeds or 6% more than in 2021, Alberta has the highest stock on hand. As of 2022, Alberta will certify 25% of the seed acres in Canada.
“New Brunswick and Quebec stocks of potatoes intended to be used as seed, are both down in 2022 but still well on track with 3-yr. averages. Although only a small part of the overall seed acreage, Ontario showed a 43% increase in certified hectares in 2022 resulting in a 130% increase in holdings as of December 1st,” the report concluded.
A source: https://www.potatobusiness.com
