Pricing, promotions good for this sweet potato season

Sweet potato growers in the South say pricing this season should be steady and similar to last season. They also have promotions that retailers can take advantage of to capitalize on this good market.

Norman Brown, director of sales and co-packer relations for sweet potatoes for Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC, Idaho Falls, Idaho, said the increase in demand for sweet potatoes is driving the growth of the industry, which has responded with capital investments in infrastructure to support growth in acreage.

"We've seen this for the last several years, and, overall, we've experienced a relatively stable market and expect this to continue for current crop," he said.

Thomas Joyner, general manager of Nash Produce Co., Nashville, N.C., said with current supply and demand he anticipates sweet potato pricing to remain steady and slightly increase throughout harvest.

"Labor costs continue to have significant impact on pricing, as all sweet potatoes are hand-harvested," he said. "These costs have risen and the (Affordable Care Act) health insurance is also beginning to increase (labor) costs across the board."

He added if fuel prices remain low that would keep pressure off of increased freight costs.

As for promotions for retailers to take advantage of this season, Kelly McIver, executive director of the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission Inc., Benson, said North Carolina will work again this year with New York-based Padilla CRT to market across the U.S. and will have promotions planned with MK-2 in Germany for European activities.

"This was our first year having a food truck travel across Germany," she said. "It was a huge success that we look forward to continuing."

Charlotte Vick, a partner in Vick Family Farms, Wilson, N.C., said the company will be promoting its Breast Cancer Awareness Pure Gold Pink label in October.

"We hope to be launching another new label early in 2017, as well," she said.