US: Glorious spuds have never been more expensive

At $28, an 80-count Russet potato market continues to be 60 percent higher than prior years. And unfortunately for potato lovers, pricey spuds aren’t anything new.Each summer’s harvest provides a new opportunity to set the markets for the upcoming year. The 2022 crop was short of filling the storage, which will continue to cause havoc until August 2023. It’s too early to know, but optimism exists that this year’s new crop will bring some welcome balance to the markets.Growers report that U.S. potato production has declined again for the fourth year. While supply has consistently flagged due to various factors, demand for potatoes (most notably processing potatoes) is swelling. As a result, all categories of potatoes have experienced supply challenges.However, the love of French fries, potato chips, and potatoes au gratin might be stronger than the economic principle that the cure for high prices is high prices. Since, compared to the rest of the produce department, potato prices ...