Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Postharvest Losses
Potato postharvest losses measure volume and quality lost after harvest but before final sale or use. MassGain connects bruising, rot, shrink, sprouting, grading, transit, and storage deterioration with regional stocks, contracts, prices, and replacement supply so users can estimate the crop that remains commercially usable.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato postharvest losses measure volume and quality lost after lifting but before final sale or use through bruising, rot, shrink, sprouting, temperature injury, grading rejection, transit damage, and storage deterioration. The object should retain crop region, lot or storage cohort, variety, harvest period, storage stage, and the type of loss observed.
Use the data to reconcile gross harvested production with marketable and processing-usable supply. Pair losses with storage age, crop condition, temperature history, regional prices, contracts, and replacement availability so teams can identify whether deterioration is local to a lot or broad enough to tighten the regional market.
Data Module
Potato Postharvest Loss Monitor
Regioncrop and storage market
Cohortlot, variety, or storage vintage
Loss typebruise, rot, shrink, sprout, or handling
Timingharvest through final release
Contextquality, temperature, storage, contracts
Decision useusable supply and inventory valuation
Analysis
Why this matters
Official production can remain strong while commercially usable supply falls if postharvest deterioration accelerates. Gross stocks may therefore diverge from effective availability, especially late in storage. The most useful interpretation separates physical disappearance from quality downgrade and asks whether replacement potatoes of the required variety and specification are actually accessible.
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, processors, storage operators, distributors, lenders, and supply-chain planners that need to understand potato postharvest losses. Postharvest loss occurs after lifting and before final sale or use and can include bruising, rot, shrink, sprouting, temperature damage, handling loss, grading rejection, transit damage, and storage-quality decline. MassGain connects these losses with crop condition, facility performance, regional prices, inventory age, and replacement availability.
Postharvest losses reduce the crop that is truly marketable even when official production is strong. They can also create specification shortages, raise effective cost, reduce collateral value, and disrupt plant or customer commitments. MassGain helps users compare loss rates across regions, seasons, facilities, suppliers, and inventory cohorts and identify whether the problem is broad or localized. Growers can improve marketing and release decisions, processors can revise usable coverage, distributors can protect shelf life, and lenders can adjust inventory and cash-flow assumptions. The result is a commercial view of the crop remaining after harvest, with the timing and economic consequences of deterioration made visible.
Use Case
A storage region reports normal production but elevated soft rot after harvest. MassGain shows usable processing inventory is declining faster than gross stocks. A processor advances selected deliveries, secures limited alternate supply, and a lender applies a targeted collateral haircut to the affected inventory cohort.
FAQs
What causes potato postharvest losses?
Bruising, rot, shrink, sprouting, temperature, handling, grading, storage, and transport can all contribute.
Why can postharvest loss tighten the market?
It reduces usable and specification-compliant supply after production has already been reported.
How does MassGain support loss monitoring?
It connects regional and lot-level loss with stocks, quality, prices, contracts, storage, and replacement supply.
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.