Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Retail Margin Analysis
Potato retail margin analysis decomposes the spread between matched retail selling prices and the upstream potato cost serving that product. MassGain provides regional market context so analysts can distinguish commodity movement from shrink, logistics, promotion, packaging, and store-level operating effects.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato retail margin analysis decomposes the spread between retail selling price and the retailer's potato acquisition and handling economics. Relevant layers include farm or supplier price, packing, freight, distribution, shrink, labor, promotion, markdowns, package format, and store-level selling price.
MassGain provides the upstream regional potato benchmark and wholesale context needed to distinguish commodity movement from changes in retail operations or pricing. Analysts can compare margins by product, pack, geography, and period without assuming the entire shelf-price change flows back to growers.
Data Module
Retail margin context
Retail priceshelf or realized selling value
Acquisition costdelivered potato or packaged-product cost
Distributionfreight and warehouse handling
Shrinkloss, markdown, and waste
Promotiontemporary pricing and merchandising effect
Decision usemargin bridge and price interpretation
Analysis
Why this matters
Retail price and farmgate price can move differently because the spread contains many non-potato costs and because promotional timing can dominate short periods. A stable shelf price during a stronger farm market may compress retailer margin, while a later price increase can occur after the farm market has eased.
MassGain helps separate those lags. The useful question is which layer of the value chain changed and whether the observed margin movement is broad or specific to a package, retailer, or region.
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 10, 2026Latest MassGain publication
Potato prices quiet at $30/cwt as regional harvest damage buzzes beneath the surface
Market indicators are stable, but reporting from Europe and select growing areas shows real, localized crop stress — a reminder that steady headline prices can mask uneven physical risk.
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 is for agricultural lenders, processors, distributors, retailers, growers, and market analysts that need to understand how profit and cost are distributed at the retail stage of the potato value chain. Potato retail margin analysis compares consumer selling prices with wholesale or delivered acquisition cost while accounting for shrink, labor, packaging, promotions, distribution, store handling, markdowns, and product mix. MassGain’s potato data suite provides the upstream regional and wholesale market context needed to build a matched comparison.
A wider retail spread does not automatically indicate higher profit. Retailers may be absorbing more shrink, freight, labor, packaging, or promotional cost, and different grades or package sizes may be compared incorrectly. MassGain helps users align origin, variety, grade, package, period, and market channel, then separate commodity movement from downstream operating and commercial effects.
The analysis supports borrower reviews, category planning, supplier negotiations, and price-transmission studies. MassGain does not reveal a retailer’s private earnings or prescribe consumer prices. It provides the independent potato-market structure needed to identify which part of the margin moved, test whether apparent expansion is commercially explained, and evaluate how upstream changes reach—or fail to reach—the final customer.
Use Case
A lender reviews a produce retailer whose potato selling prices remain elevated after wholesale markets soften. MassGain matches the same pack sizes and regions and shows freight and shrink have also declined, while promotional activity is unchanged. The analyst identifies a genuinely wider gross spread, then requests company-specific labor, markdown, and inventory data before revising the borrower’s margin forecast.
FAQs
What is potato retail margin?
It is the spread between matched retail selling prices and the wholesale or delivered costs associated with the product.
Does a wider spread prove higher profit?
No. Shrink, labor, packaging, promotions, handling, markdowns, and product mix may also change.
How does MassGain improve margin analysis?
It matches product, package, region, timing, and upstream market conditions before interpreting the spread.
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.