Feb 21, 2008

Winter Vegetable Acreage Lower, Prices Down

This winter (largely January-March), fresh-market vegetable and melon area for harvest (excluding onions) is expected to decline 3 percent from that of a year earlier, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. Despite lower acreage and variable yields, the volume of shipments for the leading fresh-market crops rose from the freeze-affected year-earlier levels during January. With soft demand and steadily rising imports, winter season shipping-point prices for fresh market vegetables are expected to average well below the freeze-affected highs of a year ago.

An early crop intentions report indicated that California tomato processors intend to contract for 2 percent fewer processing tomatoes than last year’s near record-high. Processors will likely offer higher contract prices this year to entice growers to battle a projected water shortage and higher production costs and to simply forego planting high-priced alternative grain crops.

Total U.S. potato production for the 2007 crop year (September-August) is reported at 449 million cwt., a 2 percent increase from a year earlier. Despite somewhat larger supplies this winter, prices remain steady, with the January preliminary average price received for all potatoes at $7.11 per cwt., about the same as a year earlier.

Despite the availability of large supplies for a second year in a row, prices for sweet potatoes remain strong. Preliminary marketing year average price estimates for 2007/08 sweet potatoes stand at $20 per cwt., up 12 percent from 2006/07.

To download the entire report, visit the USDA’s Economics, Statistics and Market Information System.