Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Price Basket
A potato price basket is the explicit set of constituents behind an index or category cost model. Procurement can build it around actual commercial exposure, apply transparent weights, and update it through documented governance when sourcing, specifications, or product mix materially change.
Market Data
How to read this market
A potato price basket is the defined set of products, regions, varieties, grades, packages, quantities, market channels, and delivery bases used to measure price movement. The object should make every constituent and its weight explicit so the resulting benchmark can be audited.
Use a broad basket for market reporting and a more exposure-matched basket for procurement or contract work. Fresh, fries, seed, starch, and dehydrated potatoes should not be blended casually because their physical markets, costs, and timing differ.
Data Module
Potato Price Basket
ObjectDefined set of potato price constituents
DimensionsProduct, region, grade, pack, channel
WeightsQuantity, spend, or stated methodology
Commercial useCustom index and budget benchmark
GovernanceSubstitutions and rebalancing history
WatchpointBasket must resemble actual exposure
Analysis
Why this matters
The basket determines whether an index is commercially meaningful. A technically sound calculation built from the wrong products or regions is still the wrong benchmark.
The strongest basket captures the decision being made and changes only through documented governance. That prevents convenient substitutions during volatile periods and makes it clear when sourcing changes require a new benchmark rather than a reinterpretation of the old one.
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, processors, economists, category managers, and benchmark developers that need a defined basket of potato products for measuring price movement. A potato price basket specifies the products, regions, varieties, grades, packages, market channels, quantities, and delivery bases represented in an index or cost model. MassGain helps users design the basket around the intended decision and preserve constituent definitions over time.
A broad basket may be useful for market reporting, while a procurement basket should resemble the buyer’s actual exposure. Fries, fresh potatoes, seed, starch, and dehydrated products respond to different markets and should not be combined without transparent weights and rationale. MassGain connects each constituent with historical prices, availability, contract timing, and metadata and highlights gaps, duplicates, and concentration. Procurement can create a market-adjusted category benchmark, finance can forecast inflation, and governance teams can document substitutions and rebalancing. The result is a representative and auditable measurement framework rather than a generic list of potato prices. Users can determine which products belong, how closely proxies match, and when changes in sourcing or product mix require the basket to be updated.
Use Case
A QSR builds a price basket from its forecast spend on fries, hash browns, and wedges, mapping each item to the relevant supplier region and contract period. The basket shows that most inflation risk comes from one late-season fry exposure rather than the whole category.
FAQs
What belongs in a potato price basket?
It can include defined products, regions, grades, packages, quantities, market channels, and delivery bases.
Should every potato product share one basket?
No. Different end uses and commercial channels may require separate or carefully weighted constituents.
When should the basket be updated?
Update it when sourcing, volumes, products, specifications, or the market structure changes materially.
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.