Among vegetable crops of the United States, sweet potatoes rank second in value only to white potatoes. In 1939, a total of 862,000 acres was harvested, producing 72,679,000 bushels with a farm value of $54,413,000. In most southern states, sweet potatoes have a position in the diet similar to that of white potatoes in the North and East.

In recent years, carlot shipments of southern-grown sweet potatoes from Louisiana to northern markets have increased because of improvements in storage and other facilities, providing a more even distribution throughout the year.