Total U.S. frozen potato exports recovered in March, up 17% over March 2016 and bringing the total for the first three-quarters of the marketing year to 754,953 metric tons, up 3% over the same period last fiscal year, according to Potatoes USA’s data.
The March recovery was led by the Philippines up 57%, Mexico 38%, Taiwan 36%, Indonesia 31%, Japan 28% and Korea 25%. The only real drag on exports to Potatoes USA target markets was China down 31% for the month and now off 30% for the marketing year.
Total Fresh potato exports were up 18% for March and at 318,977 metric tons are now up 10% for the marketing year. Canada continues to contribute substantially to this growth up 47% for the month and 18% on the marketing year for a total of 134,431 MT.
For the Potatoes USA target markets, a slight decline was recorded for the month with Japan off 12%, Korea down 71%, the Philippines off 62% and Taiwan down 34%. On the positive side, Malaysia was up 120% and Mexico up 7% for March.
