Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Insect Damage Tolerance
Potato insect damage tolerance defines acceptable external or internal feeding injury under a stated grade or contract. MassGain connects defect severity with packout, peeling, processing recovery, customer eligibility, regional pest pressure, and alternate-market value.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato insect-damage-tolerance data defines acceptable incidence and severity of external or internal feeding injury under a grade or commercial specification. The market object is the affected lot linked to defect type, field, region, variety, harvest period, sample method, and intended use.
Use the data to distinguish superficial cosmetic damage from injury that increases trim, peeling loss, internal defects, rejection, or processing loss. Compare regional pest pressure and qualified supply with customer standards and alternate outlets.
Data Module
Potato Insect Damage Tolerance
Market objectinsect-affected potato lot
Primary measuresincidence and severity
Key dimensionsdefect type, field, variety, end use
Commercial useacceptance and quality-adjusted pricing
Value linkspackout, trim, peel, processing recovery
Compare withregional pressure and substitute outlets
Analysis
Why this matters
Not all insect injury has the same economic effect. Surface scarring may primarily affect fresh appearance, while deeper feeding can reduce processing recovery or create internal quality risk.
Commercial interpretation should price severity and end use, not the label alone. A lot that is poor for retail presentation may retain substantial value in processing, while widespread internal injury can tighten genuinely usable supply.
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 and market-intelligence teams evaluating potato insect damage tolerance. MassGain organizes external and internal feeding damage by defect type, severity, incidence, lot, field, region, variety, harvest period, and inspection method.
It connects damage with marketable packout, peeling or trimming loss, rejection risk, processing recovery, storage behavior, and customer standards. Buyers can compare observed incidence with contract tolerances and identify whether the problem is cosmetic, removable, or likely to affect internal quality. Suppliers can estimate downgrade and sorting exposure, operations can adjust inspection or processing, and finance can quantify the cost of affected supply.
The suite also links regional pest pressure and weather with current availability, helping users distinguish a localized lot issue from a broader quality constraint. MassGain does not identify pests or replace entomological and grading expertise. It provides a transparent commercial framework for valuing insect-related defects.
Use Case
A packer receives a lot with visible feeding scars after a high-pest season. MassGain separates superficial damage from deeper injury, estimates packout by customer standard, and compares alternate outlets. The lot is diverted to processing instead of being rejected outright, preserving value.
FAQs
What is insect damage tolerance?
It is the allowed incidence or severity of insect-related injury under a defined grade or contract.
Why distinguish surface and internal damage?
They create different sorting, peeling, recovery, and customer risks.
How does MassGain connect damage with price?
It links defect severity with usable packout, processing yield, downgrade, and alternate-market value.
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.