Americans do not use any such expression as "potatoe fries."
Frozen Potato Fries Situation and Outlook
In 2000/01, frozen potato fry exports from the 3 major exporting countries, the United States, the Netherlands, and Canada, are forecast at a record 2.3 million tons, 2.5 percent above the previous year’s shipments. All three countries are expected to register export gains in 2000/01 with Canada leading the trio in export growth. Canada’s exports are forecast to increase 13 percent in 2000/01 to 700,000 tons. Canadian exports have experienced double-digit growth rates for the past several years largely due to the expanding domestic processing industry and favorable exchange rates. U.S. frozen potato fry exports were $338,315 million and 463,890 tons in 1999/2000, almost double the volume and twice the value of just 6 years ago. U.S. fry exports are forecast to increase 5 percent in 2000/01. Rising per capita incomes in many countries, expansion by multinational fast food companies, and Market Access Program activities, are expected to continue to spur demand for frozen potato fries. The Netherlands’ exports of frozen potato fries in 1999/2000 were 1.113 million tons and are forecast at 1.065 million tons for 2000/01.
United States
The U.S. potato crop is estimated at 21.7 million tons for 1999/00, up slightly from last year’s crop of 21.6 million tons. Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon, Colorado, and California had increases in production while Idaho and North Dakota experienced a decline in production. The Western states account for almost 70 percent of total U.S. potato production, with Idaho and Washington being the two largest producers.
About 57 percent of U.S. potato production was processed, of which 29 percent was used to produce frozen potato fries. Today, Russet Burbank is the main variety grown for the production of frozen potato fries. The food service sector accounts for 90 percent of U.S. frozen potato fry consumption while retail accounts for the remaining 10 percent. With a relatively large U.S. potato crop and a steady domestic demand for fries, U.S. frozen potato fry production in 2000/01 is forecast at 3.5 million tons, up from last years level of 3.4 million tons. Over the past five years, U.S. production of frozen potato fries has increased over 2 percent annually.
After a decade of record export gains, exports in 1999/2000 were 463,890 tons, down from the previous year’s level of 473,238 tons. While the U.S. dominates the Japanese market with an 87 percent market share, there was a drop in U.S. frozen potato fry exports to Japan in 1999/2000 after a decade of strong growth. In 2000/01, U.S. exports of frozen fries are projected to increase to 485,000 tons (or 14 percent of domestic fry production), up slightly from the previous year of 463,890 tons.
The top 5 U.S. potato fry markets accounted for nearly 74 percent of 1999/2000 shipments. These countries include Japan with 49 percent of total exports; Mexico and South Korea at 7 percent; Hong Kong at 6 percent, and Taiwan at 5 percent. The United States also exports to Europe, but the outlook for U.S. exports of frozen potato fries to this market in the 2000/01 season is dim, due to adequate supplies of fries in Europe. U.S. exports generally occur when potatoes are in short supply in Europe, such as in 1998/99, when U.S. fry exports to the European Union were 16,010 tons. In general, transportation costs for frozen potato fries from the U.S. Pacific Northwest are far too high to be feasible.
Expansion of the international fast food industry, product quality, rising incomes in many countries, and ongoing Market Access Program activities have all played a role in stimulating demand for U.S. frozen potato fries. Export prospects for the next decade are very promising given the sustained expansion of the international fast food industry.
