Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Processor Raw Material Cost
Processor raw material cost measures potato economics after contracts, spot purchases, regional basis, freight, storage, quality, shrink, solids, and recovery are considered. MassGain maps external market movement to each plant and crop period so procurement and finance can identify where raw-material variance is genuinely market-driven and where it is plant-specific.
Market Data
How to read this market
Processor raw-material cost measures the cost of potatoes consumed by a processing network after accounting for contracts, spot purchases, regional basis, freight, storage, quality, shrink, solids, and recovery. The relevant view should be segmented by plant and crop period.
Use the data to compare external regional markets with internal purchase and intake economics. Procurement can identify which plants are exposed to open-market or reset risk, while finance can explain raw-material variance without applying one blended potato number across the network.
Data Module
Processor raw-material context
Plantfacility consuming the potatoes
Regionsourcing basin and basis
Coveragecontracted versus open-market volume
Qualitysolids, defects, and storage condition
Delivered recoveryusable plant output basis
Decision useplant cost, sourcing, and margin analysis
Analysis
Why this matters
Network averages can hide the plant where risk actually sits. Two facilities may remain protected by crop-year contracts while a third buys supplemental spot potatoes or experiences weak recovery.
The analytical task is to map external market movement to the volume and plant that can transmit it into cost. This prevents a local disruption from becoming a company-wide inflation assumption and helps procurement focus coverage where it has the greatest economic value.
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 processor procurement teams, plant controllers, finance leaders, commercial managers, and lenders that need to measure processor raw material cost accurately. The relevant cost is not simply the invoice value of delivered potatoes. It reflects contract and spot purchases, regional basis, freight, storage, quality deductions or premiums, shrink, solids, defects, and the yield achieved when potatoes enter production. MassGain provides an independent market layer for evaluating those components against observable regional conditions.
Processor raw-material exposure often differs by plant. One facility may be largely protected by grower contracts, another may be approaching a reset, and a third may rely on supplemental open-market supply. MassGain helps users map cost by plant, crop period, variety, and coverage status and distinguish broad market pressure from company-specific execution. Procurement can test grower or supplier proposals, finance can explain plant variance, operations can connect intake quality with recovery, and commercial teams can understand when raw-material changes may reach finished-product pricing. This produces a more precise cost view that is useful for budgets, margin analysis, customer cost bridges, and credit scenarios without assuming one blended potato value applies across an entire processing network.
Use Case
A frozen-fries processor reports a network-wide raw-material increase. MassGain shows two plants remain covered under fixed grower contracts, while a third buys supplemental potatoes during a tight storage window. Finance isolates the increase to that facility, and procurement focuses coverage and negotiation work on the genuinely exposed volume.
FAQs
What belongs in processor raw material cost?
Purchase price, freight, storage, quality, shrink, solids, defects, contract timing, and plant recovery all contribute.
Why analyze raw-material cost by plant?
Plants may have different regions, contracts, varieties, quality, freight, and open-market exposure.
Does MassGain replace internal purchase data?
No. It adds external market evidence that helps interpret contracts, invoices, and plant performance.
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.