Florida red potato volumes should rise

Florida potato grower-shippers reported strong demand in early April, but an early start to the northern Florida deal could yield sluggish red potato markets in May.

The week of April 9, all production in the Sunshine State was coming from the southern and central growing regions, said Mike Hevener, president of the South Florida Potato Growers Exchange, Winter Park, Fla.

“Demand has been good up to now,” Hevener said April 12.

White production was starting to gap in early April as shippers began running out, Hevener said. Yellow potatoes also were becoming more scarce in the central and southern regions, though gaps shouldn’t be as big.