Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Cross Border Price Spread
Potato cross border price spread measures the normalized difference between comparable potato markets in two countries. Procurement teams can add freight, duty, inspection, treatment, quality, and timing to determine whether an apparent import opportunity is actionable.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato cross-border-price-spread data compares matched potato markets across countries after aligning currency, unit, product, grade, crop period, and commercial basis. The market object is the normalized price difference before and after landed-cost adjustments.
Use the data to test import parity and sourcing opportunities by adding freight, duty, brokerage, inspection, treatment, shrink, financing, and inland delivery. Confirm product eligibility and timing before treating the visible spread as actionable.
Data Module
Potato Cross Border Price Spread
Market objectmatched price difference across borders
Primary measuresnormalized price and landed spread
Key dimensionscountry, product, currency, basis
Commercial useimport-parity and sourcing analysis
Market contextfreight, duty, quality, timing
Compare withdomestic replacement cost
Analysis
Why this matters
A visible cross-border spread can disappear after currency, freight, duty, inspection, quality, and delivery timing are normalized. The cheaper quote may also be for potatoes that cannot satisfy the buyer's specification.
Commercial interpretation should focus on landed usable cost and actual importability rather than the headline price difference.
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 teams, importers, processors, and market analysts that need to compare potato prices across borders. A cross-border price spread measures the difference between matched potato markets in two countries after aligning currency, unit, product, quality, crop period, and commercial basis. MassGain helps users determine whether the spread is real and whether it can survive trade costs.
The suite can add freight, duties, brokerage, inspection, treatment, shrink, border delay, financing, and inland delivery to the origin price. Procurement can test whether imported supply is genuinely cheaper. Analysts can identify whether a wide spread reflects policy, quality, currency, temporary scarcity, or market segmentation. Finance can model how exchange rates alter landed economics.
A visible spread is not automatically actionable. Product may be unavailable, noncompliant, mismatched, or too slow to arrive. MassGain does not provide customs advice or guarantee execution. It provides the normalized market and landed-cost framework needed to compare cross-border opportunities and determine whether the difference represents usable value, basis risk, or an illusion created by unlike terms.
Use Case
A processor sees potatoes quoted €28 per tonne cheaper across the border. MassGain converts units and currency, then adds duty, washing, inspection, freight, and lower expected solids. The apparent discount becomes a premium on a usable delivered basis.
FAQs
What is a cross-border potato price spread?
It is the difference between matched potato prices in two countries under comparable terms.
Which costs must be added?
Freight, duty, brokerage, inspection, treatment, delay, shrink, financing, and inland delivery may matter.
How does MassGain test actionability?
It aligns product and terms, then compares landed usable cost, timing, compliance, and availability.
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.