Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Specific Gravity Benchmark
A potato specific gravity benchmark provides a consistent reference for comparing solids-related quality across varieties, regions, suppliers, and crop periods. MassGain preserves gravity readings, test method, market premiums, quality, and historical distribution and connects the benchmark with plant recovery so market scarcity and plant-specific value remain distinct.
Market Data
How to read this market
A potato specific-gravity benchmark provides a consistent reference for comparing solids-related quality across varieties, regions, suppliers, crop periods, and delivery windows. The object should retain gravity readings, test method, product use, market price or premium relationship, volume where available, and quality context.
Use the benchmark to evaluate supplier quality premiums, contract settlement rules, and incoming-lot position relative to regional or historical distributions. Connect the reference with plant recovery so the same benchmark methodology can coexist with different plant-specific economic values.
Data Module
Potato Specific-Gravity Benchmark
Measurespecific-gravity reading
Methodsampling and test procedure
Marketvariety, region, and crop period
Valueobserved premium or quality relationship
Contextdistribution and plant recovery
Decision usequality-linked benchmarking
Analysis
Why this matters
A common benchmark improves comparability, but it does not make gravity worth the same amount everywhere. Product mix, equipment, recovery, and customer specifications determine the value created. The benchmark should describe market scarcity; plant economics should determine how much of that scarcity premium is worth paying.
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 processors, procurement analysts, growers, quality teams, and contract managers that need a consistent potato specific-gravity benchmark. The benchmark provides a reference for valuing solids-related quality across regions, crop periods, varieties, suppliers, and delivery windows while preserving the product and market definitions required for a valid comparison.
MassGain helps users build or apply the benchmark with transparent inclusion rules. Eligible observations should identify specific gravity, variety, quality, location, crop year, contract or spot status, volume where available, and freight basis. The platform can compare current gravity distributions and market premiums with historical ranges, crop and storage conditions, and plant recovery. Procurement can use the benchmark in supplier reviews and quality-linked contracts, operations can judge whether an incoming lot is ordinary or exceptional, and finance can translate the reference into expected finished-product cost. A benchmark is not a universal price schedule: plants and products can derive different value from the same gravity reading. The result is an auditable quality reference that supports like-for-like comparison, reveals when high-solids supply is tightening, and helps prevent a supplier-selected observation from being treated as the entire market.
Use Case
A frozen-fries company reviews grower contracts across three plants. MassGain builds region-specific gravity distributions and premium ranges, then compares them with each plant's recovery history. The company adopts a common benchmark methodology but keeps plant-specific settlement values where product mix creates different economic benefits.
FAQs
What does a potato specific-gravity benchmark represent?
It represents a defined market reference for gravity levels and associated price or quality relationships.
What data should the benchmark preserve?
Variety, region, crop period, quality, gravity reading, transaction type, volume, timing, and delivery basis should be retained.
Can one gravity benchmark apply to every plant?
Not without qualification, because product mix, recovery, equipment, and quality requirements affect the value created.
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.