Down Economy Means Less People are Eating Northwest-Grown Potatoes

02/12/2009

KUOW News

When the economy sours, one of the first things people cut back on is eating out. That's hurting Northwest farm country. The world's economic downturn has depressed sales of Northwest–grown potatoes. Our Richland Correspondent Anna King has the story.

When people don't eat out they don't eat as many French fries, tater tots and hash browns. That's what's happening in many Pacific Rim countries where Northwest potatoes are exported.

The Columbia Basin in Washington and Oregon grows about 1/3 of the nation's processed potatoes. This year the region will lose as many as 17–thousand acres of spuds. An 8% drop from last year.

Dale Lathim, heads the Potato Growers of Washington. He's just glad fast food restaurants in the states are hanging on.

Lathim: "People are eating down. So rather than going to some of the white tablecloth restaurants they are going to quick serves. We are still getting a lot of fry sales so it could be a lot worse."

Lathim says he expects potato farmers to earn about 15–dollars less per ton of spuds this year. But because all commodity prices shot up so much last year that's still an increase over 2008 prices. In Oregon and Idaho fresh, non–processed, potato sales are also down.

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Source: http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=16915