Beware of Big Potato!

[SwampYankee]

Grocers Allege Potato Group Pumped Up Spud Prices

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A battle between grocers and potato growers has been silently hitting shoppers' pocketbooks, according to a U.S. wholesaler accusing America's spud farmers of driving up prices while spying on farmers with satellites and aircraft fly-overs to enforce strict limits on how many tubers they can grow.

Associated Wholesale Grocers' lawsuit against United Potato Growers of America and two dozen other defendants was shifted this week to U.S. District Court in Idaho, America's top potato-producing state with 30 percent of the nation's supply.

[tbomachines]

Better than the big ass industry, the donkey lobby is silent but strong!

[barry12345]

If the growers prices have remained pretty constant over the last few years there may be collusion or price fixing. If the growers prices have risen to a livable amount there may be no issue.

It was not that many years ago that growers in eastern Canada where only getting about a nickel a pound. Transportation of product will have experienced a legitimate increase as well.

My personal thoughts for a long time where the retail chains were taking too heavy a bite on product sales. Or at least here in Canada. Potato prices do seem to have made a serious upward leap in the last year or so. As high as sixty cents a pound retail locally in the last year.

Their phony defense as retailers is there overall low posted returns as companies. They structure other things like real estate investments as costs to enable this. A local company just spent 5.8 billion in cash for a chain primarily out in western Canada. These poor poor companies or semi monopolies claiming a 1 to 2 percent profit on operations. Even if they beat the middleman or potato marketing structure do not expect retail prices to fall off.

[elchivito]

Anyone whose food budget is impacted by the price of potatoes is probably overweight.

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by elchivito

Anyone whose food budget is impacted by the price of potatoes is probably overweight.

Or is on a fixed income, raising teenaged eating machines...

[barry12345]

I see the rises as a pre cursor for other vegatable type products to copy. Potatoes tend to be a staple of the diets in north America for most.

We do not worry about the cost increases on this item. Just how other things will follow the trend. Instead of income increases for far greater productivity by farmers. Others seem to absorb most of what they should be getting by the greater efficiency they use.

[MTI]

Constitutional right to bear spuds?



lolz

[panZZer]

Originally Posted by MTI

Constitutional right to bear spuds?



lolz

Damn--iz zat an air powered potato rifle? What a way to go!

[rs899]

That's what I need for the ATVers crossing my property....no evidence either...

[The Clk Man]

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

Grocers Allege Potato Group Pumped Up Spud Prices

Well ..... well ....well.... all of those expensive potato's should be mashed!!! and then covered in butter and sour cream and chives. yummy.

[Mölyapina]

Potato self-defense. Don't mess with the wrong potato.