In a press release, Potatoes USA reported that over the past 9 months, US exporters supplying frozen, dehydrated, and fresh potato products have experienced very modest shipments.
This growth reflects the ever-growing international demand for potatoes and processed products. The low yield of 2018 in the EU countries further increases the demand for US products.
However, Potatoes USA warns that ongoing trade wars and rising retaliatory tariffs have limited US exports. A strong American dollar also played a role. At the same time, high domestic demand in the USA also limits export deliveries.
Thus, the volume of exports of frozen potatoes grew by only 1%, which is largely due to a sharp increase (up to 20%) in export duties on American french fries in Mexico, the main consumer of this American product.
Retaliatory Chinese 10% duties on American french fries have not yet led to a fall in this market, but an additional fee of 5% and the restoration of shipments to China from the EU could lead to a decrease in US exports to China. The increase in the volume of French fries exported from the USA to Japan (by 5%), Korea (by 9%) and other Asian markets (by 6%) did not fully compensate for the US loss in Mexico.
The volume of exports of dehydrated potatoes grew by 2% due to an increase in supplies to non-traditional markets. A low potato crop in the EU provides new opportunities for export from the United States, although the traditional markets for this product have gone down: China (minus 68%), Japan (minus 7%), Malaysia (minus 4%) and the Philippines (minus 44% ). However, increased exports to Europe (6%), and Canada (14%) and South America (149%) made up for these losses.
Export of fresh potatoes provides not only direct consumption, but also use for processing into chips or french fries. A 9-month decline in shipments to Japan (minus 29%), the Philippines (minus 15%) and Taiwan (minus 26%) slowed the growth of US potato exports. However, the export of fresh potatoes grew by 1% due to an increase in supplies to Mexico (by 7%), Canada (by 3%), South Korea (by 33%) and Central America (by 17%).
Read more: https://www.agroxxi.ru