Potato stocks in Canada are 0.4 percent lower than last year. However, inventories as of early January are 5.8 percent higher than the multi-year average.
The total supply of potatoes in all provinces of Canada is set at 3.54 million tons as of January 11, 2023. Last year, on the same reference date, this figure was slightly higher. The fact that stocks over the past two years are higher than the average for several years is mainly due to the expansion of Canadian potato cultivation.
An assessment of potato stocks by the United Producers of Canada shows that most potatoes are still in stock in the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Alberta and Manitoba. In the last two provinces, stocks at this time of the year are even higher than last year.
Canadian potatoes are in high demand, both for the fresh market and for the processing industry, according to the producers’ organization. This is mainly due to a smaller potato crop after the 2022 growing season in the United States. As a result, in the western provinces of Canada in particular, proportionately more potatoes have already been delivered than usual before the start of the year.
