Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Cash Settled Contract
A potato cash settled contract resolves a monetary difference against a defined benchmark instead of delivering potatoes at settlement. Procurement and finance teams can reproduce the payment while separately tracking the quality, location, timing, and availability risk of physical supply.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato cash-settled-contract data records an agreement that resolves a monetary difference against a defined potato benchmark rather than delivering potatoes at settlement. The market object is the cash exposure by contract quantity, reference price, observation window, settlement date, region, product, unit, currency, quality basis, and caps or floors.
Use the data to reproduce settlement and compare benchmark movement with actual physical purchase prices and regional basis. Maintain a separate view of physical supply because cash settlement does not secure specification-ready potatoes.
Data Module
Potato Cash Settled Contract
Market objectbenchmark-linked cash settlement
Primary measuresreference price and settlement payment
Key dimensionsquantity, region, product, period
Commercial useprice-exposure and settlement analysis
Risk factorsbasis and physical availability
Compare withactual purchase price and supply coverage
Analysis
Why this matters
Cash settlement can offset part of a price move while leaving a buyer physically short. During a quality or regional shortage, the benchmark payment may not match the premium required to secure usable potatoes.
Commercial interpretation should separate financial settlement from procurement coverage and track residual quality, location, and availability risk.
Signal 01
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index
UCUI translates crop and market complexity into a simple uncertainty signal. Higher readings indicate greater uncertainty—not necessarily higher prices.
Understand uncertainty. Anticipate risk. Act earlier.
UCUI is designed to analyze potato-industry publications and data signals across regions, varieties, weather, disease, storage, supply, and demand.
WeatherHigh
DiseaseHigh
StorageMedium
SupplyMedium
Single-day snapshot based on a scan of 11,500+ web and social signals. Get historical and real-time data by clicking the button below.
The MassGain Daily
Today’s market analysis.
A daily editorial synthesis of physical potato data, crop signals, market reporting, and what participants should watch next.
September 16, 2026Latest MassGain publication
Potato market steady for now; Russia’s smaller crop is the salient risk
Spot prices are flat and USDA terminal reports read ‘market steady,’ but a renewed forecast for a smaller Russian harvest and recent regional harvest stress leave seasonal import timing and storage losses as the key uncertainty.
Signal 02
MassGain Potato Index
Independent physical-pricing intelligence and market-trend analysis for procurement, forecasting, contracting, and scenario planning.
Core Russet Carton Median
312.45 USD/MT
Latest qualifying physical-market observation
+4.75 (+1.55%)
Price discovery for the physical potato market
MPI is designed to track physical pricing data, price trends, deltas, and divergences across regions and potato types.
Series window45 days
Current public coverageCore russet cartons
Primary source basisQualifying USDA physical rows
UnitUSD per metric tonne
Single-day snapshot based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varieties by clicking the button below.
Signal 03
MassGain Spot Reference
An independent spot reference designed for price discovery, contract discussions, procurement comparisons, and risk modeling.
Russet Burbank — U.S. Midsize
305 USD/MT
Demonstration reference format
+1.6% WoW · Confidence: High
A trusted benchmark for pricing, contracts, and risk
MSR is intended to use real transactions and verifiable physical-market data to support negotiations, price checks, contracting, and risk models.
ProductRusset Burbank
SpecificationU.S. midsize, 40–70 count
Reference typePhysical spot benchmark
StatusIn development
Based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varities by clicking the button below. Full access also includes historical data -- including depreciated NYMEX/CBOE/EEX spot references -- projections, trends, and AI-driven insights.
The MassGain Product Ladder
From insight to intelligence to action
Four integrated products built for the physical potato market, delivered through public pages, reports, exports, dashboards, and API access.
1
Content
Original research, commentary, aggregated news, and market updates.
- What matters right now?
- What is happening out there?
2
UCUI™
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index: an AI-powered signal of crop risk and market uncertainty.
- Understand uncertainty
- Anticipate risk
- Act earlier
3
MPI™
MassGain Potato Index: independent physical-pricing intelligence and trend analysis.
- Price discovery
- Regional trends
- Procurement planning
4
MSR™
MassGain Spot Reference: an independent benchmark for price discovery and risk modeling.
- Contracts
- Negotiations
- Risk models
Content + UCUI + MPI + MSR + API access
Get historical series, regional detail, constituent data, exports, alerts, and direct data access.
Overview
Who is this for?
This page is for procurement, finance, risk, and contract teams that need to understand a potato cash-settled contract. Instead of requiring physical delivery at settlement, the agreement resolves the difference between a contracted reference and a defined potato benchmark or assessment. MassGain helps users test whether that settlement reference is transparent, reproducible, and sufficiently aligned with the physical potatoes behind the commercial exposure.
The suite can organize contract quantity, reference price, settlement date, observation window, region, product, unit, currency, quality basis, caps, floors, and payment calculation. It compares those terms with regional cash markets, crop and storage conditions, actual purchase prices, and historical basis. Procurement can determine whether cash settlement reduces operational complexity or merely leaves the physical shortfall untouched. Finance can forecast payments and reconcile the final calculation. Risk teams can evaluate counterparty and benchmark-disruption scenarios.
Cash settlement transfers price exposure but does not supply potatoes. A buyer may still need specification-ready physical volume during a shortage. MassGain does not draft contracts or determine legal enforceability. It provides the market and calculation framework needed to understand what the contract protects, what remains open, and whether settlement behavior is consistent with the user’s real procurement risk.
Use Case
A dehydrated-potato buyer enters a cash-settled agreement for 5,000 tonnes while sourcing physical supply separately. MassGain shows the benchmark tracks the broad region but not the buyer’s high-solids premium. Finance models the cash settlement accurately, while procurement maintains a separate quality and availability contingency.
FAQs
What is a cash-settled potato contract?
It settles a defined monetary difference using an agreed benchmark rather than requiring physical delivery at settlement.
Does cash settlement guarantee potato supply?
No. The buyer must still secure physical potatoes that meet location, timing, quality, and volume requirements.
How does MassGain test the contract?
It reviews benchmark fit, observation rules, historical basis, physical exposure, payment scenarios, and disruption provisions.
Put this market intelligence to work
Get historical data, regional detail, benchmarks, alerts, exports, and API access tailored to your procurement
and market-analysis needs.
Data and Methodology
Professional market-data standards
MassGain is building transparent public market infrastructure. Each live metric will identify its date, unit, coverage, methodology, and source basis.
Data provenance
MassGain uses public, licensed, contributed, and independently derived physical-market information. Source availability and publication schedules vary.
Timing and revisions
Figures may reflect the latest available observation rather than a same-day transaction. Source data and MassGain calculations may be corrected, restated, or revised.
Not transactional pricing
MassGain figures are informational reference values and do not constitute executable bids, offers, settlements, or guarantees that a transaction can occur at the displayed value.
No individualized advice
Content and data are provided for informational and analytical purposes and do not constitute financial, investment, legal, trading, or individualized procurement advice.
Independent publication
Certain observations may be derived from USDA reports. MassGain is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USDA.
Commercial use and licensing
Public display does not grant rights to reproduce, redistribute, republish, or incorporate MassGain indices or references into commercial products or contracts without authorization.