Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Starch Prices
Potato starch prices reflect starch-grade potatoes plus dry matter, extraction recovery, energy, drying, modification, purity, packaging, freight, and contract structure. MassGain matches the raw-material component to the appropriate regional potato market so buyers can evaluate the agricultural move separately from processing and product-specific premiums.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato starch prices are finished ingredient prices shaped by starch-grade potatoes, dry matter, extraction recovery, energy, drying, modification, purity, packaging, freight, and contract structure. A general potato benchmark is rarely sufficient.
Use the data to match each starch quote to the relevant potato region and product specification, then separate raw-material movement from conversion and modification costs. Buyers should distinguish native, modified, food-grade, and industrial starch when comparing prices.
Data Module
Potato starch price context
Feedstockregional starch-potato benchmark
Recoverydry matter and extractable starch
Conversionextraction, drying, and energy
Specificationnative, modified, food, or industrial
Delivered basispackaging and freight
Decision usecontract and standard-cost review
Analysis
Why this matters
Finished starch prices can diverge from potato markets because recovery and processing are large parts of the economics. Lower dry matter can raise cost even when field prices are unchanged, while contract coverage can delay a potato increase.
The analytical task is to validate the agricultural component first and then explain the residual. This creates a cleaner supplier cost bridge and prevents unrelated energy, modification, or logistics costs from being attributed to generic potato inflation.
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 food processors, starch buyers, ingredient procurement teams, finance leaders, and starch manufacturers that need to benchmark potato starch prices. Finished starch pricing reflects starch-grade potatoes, dry matter, extraction recovery, energy, drying, modification, purity, food or industrial specifications, packaging, freight, and contract structure. MassGain supplies an independent physical-market reference for the raw-potato portion of the price.
A general potato index is rarely sufficient. Starch potatoes may follow different varieties, contracts, regions, and quality measures from fresh or fry markets. MassGain helps users match each quote to the relevant origin and period, compare historical relationships, and separate agricultural pressure from conversion and product-specific costs. Native, modified, food-grade, and industrial starches may also carry different economics and should not be treated as interchangeable. Procurement can normalize supplier offers, finance can maintain ingredient standards, and commercial teams can prepare credible customer cost explanations. By combining external potato benchmarks with internal usage, specification, freight, and supplier information, teams can identify which part of a price change is supported by the market and which part requires additional evidence.
Use Case
A sauce manufacturer receives an 8% increase on food-grade potato starch. MassGain shows the supplier’s starch-potato region rose only modestly. Procurement separates modification, packaging, energy, and freight, negotiates a phased adjustment, and replaces the vague commodity clause with a matched raw-material benchmark.
FAQs
What determines potato starch prices?
Starch potatoes, dry matter, recovery, energy, modification, purity, packaging, freight, volume, and timing all contribute.
Why can starch prices differ from general potato prices?
Suitable varieties, starch yield, contracts, processing, specifications, and plant capacity create a distinct market.
How does MassGain support starch negotiations?
It isolates the relevant regional potato movement and provides context for evaluating conversion and product premiums.
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.