Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Market Power Analysis
The potato market power analysis view examines bargaining structure within a specific region, variety, end use, and delivery window. Procurement, growers, lenders, and researchers can compare concentration with realistic alternatives, capacity, switching costs, contracts, and price transmission while keeping legal conclusions separate.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato market-power-analysis data combines buyer and seller concentration with alternative outlets, switching costs, contract duration, storage, freight, processing capacity, transaction depth, and price behavior. The market object is bargaining structure within a specific region, variety, end use, and delivery window.
Use the data to evaluate supplier dependence, processor alternatives, price transmission, entry barriers, and whether leverage is persistent or caused by a temporary crop constraint. Keep legal conclusions separate from economic evidence.
Data Module
Potato Market Power Analysis
Market objectregional bargaining structure
Primary measuresconcentration and credible alternatives
Key dimensionsregion, product, capacity, contracts
Commercial usesourcing and structural risk analysis
Evidenceswitching cost, flows, price behavior
Compare withtemporary scarcity and market entry
Analysis
Why this matters
Concentration alone does not establish market power because a dominant local buyer may still face credible competition from nearby plants or alternative crops, while a nominally fragmented market can be constrained by freight or qualification.
Commercial interpretation should focus on realistic alternatives and behavior. Structural leverage persists across normal market conditions; temporary scarcity usually fades as crop or logistics normalize.
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, producer organizations, lenders, regulators, and market researchers that need to analyze market power in potato supply chains. Market power describes the ability of buyers or sellers to influence prices, terms, access, or risk allocation beyond what would occur in a highly competitive market. MassGain helps users examine structure and behavior using physical-market evidence rather than relying on concentration alone.
The suite can compare buyer and seller concentration, regional alternatives, switching costs, contract duration, capacity, storage, freight, transaction volume, bid-offer behavior, and price transmission. Procurement can assess dependence on a small supplier base. Growers can understand whether limited processor options affect farmgate pricing. Lenders can stress counterparties exposed to one dominant buyer or plant. Analysts can identify where a temporary crop shortage differs from persistent structural leverage.
Concentration does not automatically prove abusive conduct, and market power can vary by region, variety, delivery window, or specification. MassGain does not provide legal conclusions or competition-law advice. It provides a transparent analytical framework for documenting alternatives, bargaining conditions, price behavior, and the physical constraints that determine who has leverage in a specific potato market.
Use Case
A regional grower group believes one processor has excessive influence over contract prices. MassGain shows the processor controls most local capacity, alternative plants are freight-disadvantaged, and farmgate decreases pass faster than increases. The group uses the evidence to evaluate diversification and contract design while leaving legal conclusions to counsel.
FAQs
What indicates potato market power?
Concentration, limited alternatives, switching costs, capacity control, pricing behavior, and contract dependence can be indicators.
Does concentration alone prove market power?
No. Geography, product substitutability, entry, logistics, contracts, and countervailing power also matter.
How does MassGain support the analysis?
It connects market structure with prices, flows, capacity, alternatives, contracts, and transmission behavior.
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.