Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato First Marketing Stage Price
A potato first marketing stage price anchors the beginning of the commercial value chain before later processing and distribution. Procurement can use it in a cost bridge once grading, loading, storage, commissions, and other included services are normalized to avoid double counting.
Market Data
How to read this market
A potato first marketing stage price measures the value at the first defined commercial transaction after production, before later processing and distribution stages. The series should identify geography, potato type, grade, unit, crop period, transaction point, and whether grading, loading, storage, or commissions are already included.
Use it as an upstream benchmark in a cost bridge, not as a delivered or processor selling price. Compare it with farmgate, shipping-point, processor purchase, and delivered values only after normalizing included services so handling or freight is not counted twice.
Data Module
Potato First Marketing Stage Price
ObjectFirst commercial price after production
BasisRegion, product, grade, unit, crop period
Included costsVerify grading, loading, storage, commission
Commercial useCost bridges and price transmission
ComparisonFarmgate, shipping-point, processor purchase
WatchpointTransaction stage must be defined precisely
Analysis
Why this matters
This price matters because it anchors the beginning of the commercial value chain. Apparent margins between first-stage and downstream prices can be fictitious if one series already includes services that are added again elsewhere.
Commercial interpretation should therefore focus on basis alignment. A clean first-stage benchmark can show genuine price transmission; a poorly defined one can turn normal logistics and handling into an apparent supplier margin.
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 growers, handlers, processors, economists, and procurement analysts that need to understand potato prices at the first marketing stage. The measure represents value when potatoes first enter commercial exchange after production, before later processing, wholesale, distribution, and retail margins are added. MassGain helps users define the exact transaction point, geography, product, grade, unit, and services included so the series can be compared responsibly.
First-stage prices can provide a useful bridge between farm economics and downstream costs, but they may include grading, loading, storage, commissions, or other handling depending on the source. MassGain compares the series with farmgate, shipping-point, processor purchase, and delivered-market benchmarks and preserves crop period and product-channel differences. Growers can evaluate price realization, procurement teams can understand the starting commodity value in a supplier cost bridge, and analysts can study how prices transmit through the value chain. The result is a clearly defined benchmark that avoids subtracting unrelated upstream and downstream prices and calling the difference a meaningful margin.
Use Case
A food processor reviews a supplier cost bridge that starts with a first-marketing-stage price. MassGain shows that the series already includes grading and loading, which the supplier also added separately. Procurement removes the duplicated costs and retains only the documented conversion and freight components.
FAQs
What is a potato first marketing stage price?
It is the value at the first defined commercial transaction after production.
What costs may already be included?
Depending on the source, grading, loading, handling, storage, or commissions may be included.
How does it differ from a delivered price?
A delivered price also reflects the logistics and services required to move product to the buyer’s destination.
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.