Guides
The potato market, explained
How the numbers on this site actually work: FOB and the mostly range, carton counts and the per-cwt board, origin rotation and the storage crop, cartons versus sacks. Each guide is built on the same live data as the trackers, so the examples are real and current.
The data behind the site
How to read the USDA National Potato and Onion Report
The USDA National Potato and Onion Report (NPON) is Market News's daily national roundup of what potatoes actually sold for FOB at the shipping point. Each line names an origin, variety, pack, size or count and grade, then a low-high price and usually a tighter mostly range.
Fresh vs process: why fry contracts don't set your FOB
Fry and chip contracts do not set the fresh potato price because most processing volume, well over half the US crop, is contracted privately before the season and never quoted. The fresh tablestock market, the potatoes packed in cartons, sacks and bags for grocery and foodservice, is the open price-discovery arena this site reports, and the two can diverge in a given year.
How much do potatoes sell for? Shed, terminal and store prices
Potatoes sell for three different prices. On October 21, 2026, Idaho russets sold at the packing shed for mostly $23.00-24.00 a 50 lb carton of 70-count potatoes, 46 to 48 cents a pound, while grocery ads in USDA's October 16 survey averaged $3.26 for a 5 lb bag of russets, about 65 cents a pound.
Sizes, packs and counts
Carton counts explained: why a 40-count costs more than a 90-count
Idaho russets, Nov 3, 2026: 40-count sold for mostly $25.00-26.00 a 50 lb carton, 90-count for mostly $15.00. The count is how many potatoes fill the box.
How potato grades affect FOB price: US No. 1 vs US No. 2
US No. 2 potatoes sell at a discount to the same potato graded US No. 1: a median of about 35 percent across more than 2,700 same-day USDA shipping point pairs since 2021. No. 2 allows more defect and a smaller size, and each grade trades as its own market.
Cartons, sacks and consumer bags: pack economics
Potatoes ship wholesale in cartons, sacks, baled consumer bags and 2000 lb bulk totes, and the same potatoes carry different prices by pack. A carton and a sack are quoted per 50 lb package while a tote is quoted per hundredweight, so the raw numbers are not comparable until you put them all on a per-hundredweight basis.
Potato sizing chart: sizes, carton counts and grades
A potato sizing chart has three separate scales: USDA size designations such as Size A (1 7/8 inches and up) and Size B (1 1/2 to 2 1/4 inches), carton counts that size a 50 lb russet box by how many potatoes fill it, and grades such as US No. 1, which measure condition rather than size.
Origins and the calendar
The US potato calendar: who ships when
Most US potatoes come from fall-harvested storage regions, Idaho, the Columbia Basin, Wisconsin and Colorado's San Luis Valley, that ship from their cellars through winter and spring, while the Red River Valley anchors reds and yellows and Florida and California run the fresh winter and spring crops. Potato price action is largely this origin rotation, one region handing the market off to the next.
Storage potatoes: why prices move in spring
Potato prices often firm from winter into spring because the storage crop is harvested once in the fall and only drawn down, so the old crop tightens as the season ages. Shrink and quality loss in the cellar, a rising grade-out that pulls sound US No. 1 stock out of the pile and the timing of new-crop relief are the mechanics behind the seasonal move.
Does the US import potatoes?
Yes. The US imports fresh potatoes in every month of the year, and almost all of them come from Canada: 99.97 percent of the 415,600 metric tons of fresh, non-seed potatoes imported in 2025. The US exports more fresh potatoes than it imports.