Current price
Well above normalPotato prices today
Idaho russet Norkotah potatoes in 70-count 50 lb cartons are quoted at $24.00-25.00 per 50 lb carton ($48.00-50.00/cwt, $0.48-0.50/lb) FOB as of Nov 3, 2026 (USDA), the fresh market's trade benchmark.
Data through Nov 3, 2026 · source last checked Nov 4, 2026 · page revised Nov 4, 2026
Cite
- Comparison midpoint
- USDA mostly / low-high range
About this data
- Source
- USDA AMS shipping point potato FOB reports (FV130)
- Series
- Russet Norkotahs, 70-count 50 lb cartons, Upper Valley Idaho, FOB
- Basis
- FOB shipping point, low-high range
- Geography
- Upper Valley Idaho
- Unit
- $/50 lb carton
- Last observation
- Nov 3, 2026
- Update frequency
- USDA reports on business days, in season
Idaho russet Norkotah potatoes in 70-count 50 lb cartons are quoted at $24.00-25.00 per 50 lb carton ($48.00-50.00/cwt, $0.48-0.50/lb) FOB as of Nov 3, 2026 (USDA), the fresh market's trade benchmark.
Idaho russet Norkotahs, 70-count 50 lb carton, are quoted at $24.00-25.00 per carton FOB as of Nov 3. The benchmark moved up 50 cents on the week and $3.00 on the month. Year over year the range is up $17.50 and stands $12.50 above the 5-year median.
| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week over week | $24.50 | $24.00 | +2.1% |
| Month over month | $24.50 | $21.50 | +14.0% |
| Year over year | $24.50 | $7.00 | +250.0% |
| vs 5-yr median | $24.50 | $12.00 | +104.2% |
Previous weeks
An earlier week
Idaho russet Norkotah potatoes in 70-count 50 lb cartons are quoted at $24.00-25.00 per 50 lb carton FOB as of Nov 2, 2026, up 2.1% on the week and up 16.7% from the month-ago level of $21.00. Versus the 5-year median, the benchmark sits 104.2% higher.
Week of Oct 30, 2026
Idaho russet Norkotah potatoes in 70-count 50 lb cartons are mostly $24.00 per 50 lb carton as of Oct 30, 2026. The price is double the five-year median and well above last year's $7.00.
An earlier week
Idaho russet Norkotah potatoes in 70-count 50 lb cartons are mostly $24.00 per 50 lb carton as of Oct 29, 2026 (USDA). Prices rose 2.1 percent on the week, and the benchmark is 100 percent above the five-year median.
Week of Oct 23, 2026
Idaho russet Norkotah potatoes in 70-count 50 lb cartons are quoted at mostly $24.00 per 50 lb carton as of Oct 23, 2026. Prices have risen 4.3% on the week, 14.3% over the month, and are up 242.9% year over year, now trading 100% above the 5-year median.
What moves potato prices
The price on this page is a wholesale one: what a truckload trades for at the shed, free on board (FOB) the shipping point, at the trade benchmark of Idaho russet Norkotahs in 70-count 50 lb cartons from Idaho, the flagship storage origin. It is not a grocery-shelf price; the store adds freight, handling and retail margin on top of it.
What moves it is the storage crop and the calendar. The fall harvest is dug once and shipped from sheds for the following ten months, so the size, grade-out and keeping quality of that one crop shape the whole marketing year, and the carton-count spread is the early read on how the remaining supply's size profile is holding up. The weekly board shows which districts are quoting and what moved.
Potatoes also trade in 50 lb sacks, which for russets means US No. 2 sold by minimum weight rather than by count. Potato sack prices by origin lists every live USDA sack quote, and the 50 lb sack price calculator restates any of them per pound, per 60 lb bushel and per hundredweight.
For the full structural treatment, Why are potato prices rising right now? and its falling twin cover the drivers in both directions.
Common questions
What is the current price of potatoes?
Idaho russet Norkotah potatoes in 70-count 50 lb cartons are quoted at $24.00-25.00 per 50 lb carton ($48.00-50.00/cwt, $0.48-0.50/lb) FOB as of Nov 3, 2026 (USDA), the fresh market's trade benchmark. This is the wholesale FOB price at the shipping point, what a truckload trades for at the shed, not a grocery-shelf price. Other districts, varieties and packs quote their own ranges; see the weekly board.
What is the wholesale price of potatoes?
At the shipping point, the trade benchmark is $24.00-25.00 per 50 lb carton ($48.00-50.00/cwt, $0.48-0.50/lb) for 70-count Idaho russet Norkotahs, as of Nov 3, 2026 (USDA). That is the FOB price a buyer pays at the packing shed. Bigger potatoes, lower grades and other packs each trade at their own price: the carton-count spread runs the russet carton ladder from 40-count to 100-count, and potato sack prices by origin covers the 50 lb sacks. Delivered wholesale prices at city terminal markets sit above the shed price by the freight and the receiver's margin; How much do potatoes sell for? follows the same potatoes from the shed to a terminal market and a grocery ad.
How much does a potato cost per pound?
At the benchmark's shipping point quote, $24.00-25.00 per 50 lb carton on Nov 3, 2026, russets work out to $0.48-0.50/lb, or $0.343-0.357 a potato for the 70 that fill the carton. Those are wholesale figures before freight and the store's margin. The price per potato calculator turns any carton count's live quote into a cost per potato, per pound and per hundredweight, and the potato price per pound converter restates any sack, carton, bag or tote price per pound.
Are potato prices going up or down right now?
Potato prices at the benchmark spec are rising right now. It has risen 7 consecutive weeks on the comparison midpoint. Why are potato prices rising right now? has the current story.
What does 70-count mean on a potato carton?
A 50 lb russet carton is graded by how many potatoes fill it, from 40-count (the biggest potatoes) to 100-count (the smallest), so 70-count is the mid-size carton the trade treats as the benchmark. The counts trade at different prices, and the carton-count spread tracks that ladder live.
Is this what potatoes cost at the grocery store?
No. This is the wholesale FOB price at the shipping point, quoted per 50 lb carton. A grocery-shelf price adds freight, handling, packaging and retail margin on top. How much do potatoes sell for? sets a shed price against USDA's terminal market and grocery ad prices for the same kind of potatoes.
Where does this potato price data come from?
From USDA Agricultural Marketing Service shipping point reports, which quote FOB prices by district, variety, pack and count on business days while a district is shipping. The methodology page has the full sourcing.