2007 - Potatoes at WSU - Washington State University

Fresh Market Value - Methods
Economic Potential
The gross return in U.S. dollars per acre for each trial entry was calculated using WA (Columbia
Basin) four-year average fresh potato prices. Production costs per acre were not applied. All
assumptions are listed in the table below. Assessing the fresh value of a given lot of potatoes is
difficult because the actual market allows fresh-pack sheds to utilize a mix of tuber sizes, packaging,
and marketing opportunities to maximize income potential. Following discussions with actual packsheds
and complying with USDA standards, the packaging and size ranges described below provide
a good base for variety comparison. A packaging and handling fee (pack-shed operating fee) of
$3.50 was assessed on each CWT of potatoes. This economic evaluation does not fully account for
consumer preferences for each trial entry.
Fresh-pack m arket 4-year average shipping point prices per tuber size and grade w ith associated
pack-fees.
R ange of Tuber S izes
for E ach P ackage Type
and U S D A G rade
Four Y ear W A S tate
P ack-S hed Fee:
C olum bia B asin P ackaging A djusted
M arkets/P ackaging a U .S . N o. 1 b U .S . N o. 2 A verage P rices c and H andling V alue
50 lb cartons oz oz $/C W T $/C W T $/C W T
100 C ount 7 to 8.5 $11.98 $3.50 $8.48
90 C ount 8.5 to 9.5 $13.44 $3.50 $9.94
80 C ount 9.5 to 10.5 $15.28 $3.50 $11.78
70 C ount 10.5 to 12.5 $16.81 $3.50 $13.31
60 C ount 12.5 to 14 $16.67 $3.50 $13.17
50 C ount 14 to 18 $15.51 $3.50 $12.01
10 lb Film B ags
N on-size A 4 to 7 $8.05 $3.50 $4.55
100 lb B urlap S acks
10 oz M in. S ize U .S . N o. 2 10 to 20 $7.87 $3.50 $4.37
10 oz M in. S ize U .S . N o. 2 18 to 20 $7.87 $3.50 $4.37
B ulk
P rocess-C ulls < 4 < 10 $2.00 $3.50 -$1.50
P rocess-C ulls > 20 > 20 $2.00 $3.50 -$1.50
a
C ount = tuber num ber per 50 lb carton.
b
18 to 20 oz U .S . N o. 1 tubers are typically of m arginal value on the fresh m arket due to their large size. They w ere
therefore priced as U .S . N o. 2, 10 oz m inim um size.
c
S ales F.O .B . S hipping P oint, m arket periods 2000/2001 to 2003/2004 (U S D A Federal-S tate M arket N ew s S ervice
2000-2004). P rocess-culls priced at regional process-cull m arket value.
2007 Potato Cultivar Evaluations 4 WSU Potato Research Group