Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Regional Price Spread
A potato regional price spread compares matched potato markets across producing or consuming regions. MassGain combines price history with crop conditions, quality, freight, and practical substitution to show whether the spread is commercially actionable.
Market Data
How to read this market
A potato regional price spread is the difference between matched potato prices in two or more regions after aligning variety, grade, size, end use, crop period, unit, market channel, and delivery basis.
Use regional spreads to identify sourcing alternatives, local premiums, and basis risk. Add freight, quality, storage, border, and plant suitability before deciding whether a lower-priced region is commercially actionable.
Data Module
Regional price spread context
Region Alocal or reference market
Region Balternate market
Product matchvariety, quality, and end use
Timingcrop and delivery window
Freight bridgetransport and handling difference
Decision usealternate sourcing and regional-basis analysis
Analysis
Why this matters
Regional spreads can persist when potatoes are not easily substitutable across geography. Freight, contracts, quality, regulation, and plant approval can keep markets apart even when headline prices differ materially.
The analytical question is whether the spread exceeds the cost and risk of substitution. A temporary local shortage may create an actionable opportunity, while a structural premium can remain because the alternate origin cannot economically serve the destination.
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, distributors, growers, and analysts that need to compare potato prices across regions. A regional price spread is the difference between matched potato markets after aligning product, variety, grade, crop period, unit, transaction channel, and delivery basis. MassGain helps users determine whether the spread reflects real supply conditions, normal seasonality, freight, quality, or a temporary local imbalance.
Regional spreads can reveal sourcing opportunities and risk, but a lower origin price is not automatically accessible. Transportation, border costs, storage, lead time, plant suitability, and quality can erase the apparent advantage. MassGain tracks historical relationships, current crop and inventory conditions, market depth, and practical lane economics. Procurement can identify when a spread is wide enough to justify alternate sourcing, finance can model plant-specific cost, and analysts can distinguish convergence from structural regional differences. The framework also shows whether a supplier's local premium is consistent with the market or exceeds what crop and availability conditions support. The result is a disciplined regional comparison that connects origin values with executable delivered economics.
Use Case
A processor sees its local market trade $18 per tonne above a neighboring region. MassGain shows the spread is unusually wide and likely to persist through the delivery window. After adding freight, quality, and recovery, procurement shifts a portion of supplemental volume while keeping immediate local supply for continuity.
FAQs
What is a potato regional price spread?
It is the price difference between matched potato markets in two or more regions.
Why can regional spreads persist?
Crop, demand, storage, quality, contracts, freight, regulation, and limited substitution can keep markets apart.
How does MassGain identify actionable spreads?
It compares history, availability, product fit, quality, timing, freight, and total delivered cost.
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.