— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on December 3, 2019, Tuesday.
Cool condition started to hit growing regions in October, lashing potatoes with frost, some regions were even able to dig up some damaged crops for storage, however, for growers in Manitoba, North Dakota and Minnesota who received snow and rain are forced to abandon some supplies in field. That will bring 2 results, first, the potato's quality which are coming in smaller. French-Fry makers usually favor longer spuds. Second, tight supplies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts domestic output will drop 6.15 this year to the lowest since 2010.
In Idoho, the top producer, output is forecast to fall 5.5%. Not only the U.S., Canada is also being affected. According to Bloomberg, the united potato growers of Canada estimates about 18% or 4900 hectares of the province's planted area, were left unharvested. About 6.5% of Alberta's potatoes are estimated to be frost damaged.
In Canada, an increase in fry-processing capacity has boosted demand, this will lead to tight supplies and it is likely that potato prices could climb this year across North America. But according to estimation from experts, it is still a manageable situation as the east coast is being less affected by the weather, so it can makeup part of loss to some extent.
Currently, cold weather's influence has not been finished yet in North America. The impact to the crops remains to be seen.
It's also a question to think about how can potato producers better cope with the effects of climate change.
According to industry research institute, global potato demand is growing steadily, one of the big drives is the increasing demand from potato processing market.
The global market scale of this industry is expected to grow to $6.7m till the end of this year and will grow steadily with 4% CAGR from 2019 to 2029, according to the latest released report from Persistence Market Research. How will the potato producers grab business opportunity? We will keep an eye on this issue.