Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Self Sufficiency Ratio
A potato self-sufficiency ratio shows how much of a defined market's use can be covered by domestic production. Procurement and policy teams can then test variety, quality, seasonality, processing capacity, and import needs because aggregate sufficiency does not guarantee substitutable supply.
Market Data
How to read this market
The potato self-sufficiency ratio compares domestic production with domestic use for a defined product, geography, and period. The object should align production, trade, inventories, losses, and absorption and keep raw potatoes separate from processed formats where appropriate.
Use the ratio as a broad resilience indicator, then test variety, quality, seasonality, processing capacity, and market accessibility. A country can produce more total potatoes than it consumes yet still depend on imports for specific seed, processing varieties, or finished products.
Data Module
Potato Self-Sufficiency Ratio
ObjectDomestic production relative to domestic use
DimensionsCountry, product, period
InputsProduction, trade, stocks, absorption
Commercial useSourcing resilience and policy analysis
ComparisonProduct-specific import requirements
WatchpointAggregate sufficiency can hide specification gaps
Analysis
Why this matters
Self-sufficiency matters as a structural measure, but it does not guarantee commercial substitutability. Surplus table potatoes cannot automatically replace scarce high-solids processing varieties or frozen-product capacity.
The analytical value comes from drilling below the national ratio. Seasonal, product, quality, and infrastructure gaps determine whether imports remain strategically necessary.
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 policymakers, processors, procurement teams, lenders, and market analysts that need to measure potato self-sufficiency. The potato self-sufficiency ratio compares domestic production with domestic use under a defined product scope, geography, and period. MassGain helps users align production, imports, exports, stocks, losses, and domestic absorption so the ratio reflects the intended market rather than a mixture of raw and processed potato categories.
A ratio above 100% suggests production exceeds domestic requirements and may support exports or stock building, while a lower ratio indicates some reliance on imports or inventory drawdown. The measure does not show whether domestic potatoes meet every variety, quality, seasonal, or processing requirement. A country can appear self-sufficient overall while importing specialized seed, fries, or processing-grade supply. MassGain connects the ratio with trade partners, crop timing, storage, capacity, prices, and market accessibility. Procurement teams can evaluate sourcing resilience, policymakers can monitor food and industrial security, and lenders can assess country or borrower exposure. The result is a qualified self-sufficiency measure that identifies both aggregate balance and the product-specific gaps hidden beneath it.
Use Case
A market appears 110% self-sufficient in potatoes, but MassGain shows it still imports frozen fries and selected processing varieties because domestic capacity and specifications do not match demand. Procurement retains alternate foreign suppliers despite the strong national ratio.
FAQs
How is potato self-sufficiency measured?
It generally compares domestic production with domestic use for a defined product, period, and geography.
Does a ratio above 100% eliminate import needs?
No. Seasonality, quality, variety, processing capacity, and product form can still create import requirements.
How does MassGain qualify the ratio?
It adds product, trade, storage, crop timing, capacity, price, and specification context.
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.