b'Foodservice Losses Reduce Total Potato SalesJohn Toaspern, CMO,Potatoes USAWith everything that occurred this pickeduptwopercentagepoints,past year, it is very important for us one from frozen and one from fresh,tounderstandwhathashappened while dehydrated remained at 8%. to the sales of potatoes in the U.S.market and how the crop was uti- For about the last ten years, foodser-lized. Based on an analysis of pota- vice sales have been accounting fortoes and products sold at retail and a greater and greater share of totalfoodservice, and accounting for the potato sales in the U.S., peaking atvolume of U.S. exports and imports, 58%inmarketingyear2019.Thisthere was a 5% decline in the uti- upward trend was reversed in MY20,lizationofpotatoesgrowninthe with the foodservice share droppingU.S.duringtheJuly2019June to 53% of the total.2020 marketing year (MY20).The spike in retail sales of potatoesUSA PotatoesDespitethe9%increaseinsales thispastspringwasremarkable,through retail, the decline occurred with increased sales continuing. Indue to the 13% decrease in sales to fact,totalpotatosalesfrommid-thefoodservicesectorand2% March through November 1 are upMessagedecrease in exports. In terms of uti- 20% over the same period in 2019. lization of the U.S. crop, the declinewasfurthercompoundedbya7% For the marketing year, retail salesincrease in imports. It is important wereup8.7%,anincreaseof1.3to note that this decline occurred at million pounds. From a percentagethe end of the marketing year. Sales perspective, frozen and dehydratedtofoodservice,retail,andexports, sawthelargestgrowth,bothwithwereupfortheJulyDecember anincreaseofover15%.Potato2019 period.chips,thelargestvolumecategoryatretail,increasedby5.5%,andFrozencontinuestobethelargest fresh was up by 9.5% for the mar-use of U.S. grown potatoes, account- keting year. Within fresh sales, rus-ing for 40%, with fresh at 25% and setsincreasedby10%,yellowschips at 23%.During MY20, chips increasedby13%,andwhites8 POTATO GROWER FEBRUARY 2021'