Potatoes in storage accounted for 50 percent of the 2008 fall storage states' production, unchanged from Feb.1, 2008.
NASS says Klamath Basin stocks totaled 2.80 million cwt Feb. 1, up 4 percent from a year ago. Klamath Basin stocks include potatoes stored in California and Klamath County, Ore.
Potato disappearance, at 185 million cwt, was 7 percent below Feb. 1, 2008 and 6 percent below 2007. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 16.9 million cwt, was down 8 percent from both the same date in 2008 and 2007.
Processors in the nine major states have used 99.2 million cwt of potatoes this season, down 7 percent from the same period last year and down 8 percent from two years ago.
Dehydrating usage accounted for 18.4 million cwt of the total processing, down 13 percent from last year and 22 percent below the same period in 2007.