As French Fry Demand Diminishes, Potato Acres Expected To Drop

Manitoba potato growers are feeling the impact of COVID-19.

 

Dan Sawatzky is Manager of Keystone Potato Producers Association.

 

"Acreage will be down this year," he said. "An estimate might be in that 67,000 range, which is similar to a couple years back. We are seeing demand for fries diminishing, certainly with the COVID-19 virus, people are staying home more and a lot of our product goes through quick service restaurants and even the sit down restaurants, and they're all closed. Obviously, we're seeing a real shutdown of a lot of that market."

 

Sawatzky says they are seeing an increase in retail fry sales, however it's small compared to the loss at restaurants.

 

He's hoping to see a rebound in 2020, as roughly 12,000 acres of potatoes were left unharvested last fall.

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This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2023-38640-39573 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ENC23-226. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.