July/August 2020 - 8
COVER STORY
COVID continues»»»
N
By Zeke Jennings
MANAGING EDITOR
ow three months into the
COVID-19 pandemic in the
United
States,
the
situation
remains fluid and unsettled for the
potato industry and that likely will
continue for quite some time.
When
massive
foodservice
restrictions and shutdowns went into
place the second week of March, it
threw the food supply chain into a
tailspin. Schools closed, tourism halted
and restaurants were limited to drivethru
and take-out only.
In 2019, an all-time high of 58%
of U.S.-grown potatoes went to the
foodservice, led by frozen fries. McCain
Foods, the world's largest producer of
frozen potato products, has production
facilities in the U.S. and Canada.
Christine Wentworth, McCain's vice
president of agriculture procurement,
said the effects were felt immediately,
8
Spudman.com
as restaurants and other foodservice
customers began canceling orders.
The National Restaurant Association
reported that foodservice sales in
the U.S. were off $120 billion during
the months of March, April and
May, which is more than a 40% drop
of what they were last year. Lack of
foodservice demand worldwide also led
to U.S. export numbers for frozen potato
products to drop 29% during April, yearover-year,
reported Potatoes USA.
" We saw numbers drop off the face
of the map the third and fourth weeks
of March, " said Wentworth, who added
foodservice numbers have been slowly
improving since, but expects them to
be below normal for months to come.
" We're anticipating below normal levels
until a vaccine is found and we get back
to having events, and that's going to be
quite some time. "
The lack of demand for fry makers
put them in a position to make
" painful " decisions, Wentworth said.
That included shutting down lines or
temporarily closing plants - although
in some cases, due to an employee
testing positive for COVID - as well
as furloughing employees. Businesses,
including farms and processors, have
had to invest in protective measures
to help stem the spread of COVID and
protect their staffs and customers, which
Wentworth said is the top priority.
Those are just internal ramifications
for the fry makers. Externally, processors
began telling their grower partners
earlier this spring not to count on them
buying as many processing potatoes in
2020. Without a guaranteed buyer, many
growers who plant processing potatoes
reduced acreage. The result is a projected
6% drop in acreage for U.S. growers this
year. Fewer acres and uneven processing
demand, which has improved in June
as restaurants began to reopen in
limited capacity, has left uncertainty
surrounding the 2020 harvest and if it
will be large enough to sustain demand
http://www.Spudman.com
July/August 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2020
July/August 2020 - 1
July/August 2020 - 2
July/August 2020 - 3
July/August 2020 - 4
July/August 2020 - 5
July/August 2020 - 6
July/August 2020 - 7
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