Argentina: Buenos Aires Wholesale Potato Prices Ease to About ARS 1,000 per kg
Brushed potatoes from the Southeast averaged ARS 18,000 per bag at the Buenos Aires Central Market on 25 September. That is about ARS 1,000 per kg, 25% below late July.
Wholesale potato prices in Buenos Aires eased again in September. On 25 September, brushed potatoes from the Southeast sold for ARS 17,000 to 19,000 per bag. The average was ARS 18,000.
The prices come from the Buenos Aires Central Market (MCBA). The Argenpapa portal publishes them in its daily market summary.
Prices by origin
- Tucumán: ARS 19,000–21,000 per bag, average 20,000.
- Córdoba: ARS 18,000–19,000, average 18,500.
- Southeast, brushed: ARS 17,000–19,000, average 18,000.
- Southeast, unbrushed: ARS 16,000–18,000, average 17,000.
The market received 62 trucks that day. About 7,500 bags were on the trading floor.
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Tucumán potatoes were the most expensive. Their average was about 11% above brushed Southeast potatoes. Unbrushed Southeast potatoes were about 6% cheaper than brushed ones.
Lower than in early September
Argenpapa uses an 18 kg bag in its price analysis. On that basis, the average for brushed Southeast potatoes equals about ARS 1,000 per kg.
At the start of the month, prices had recovered a little. The same product rose from ARS 1,000 per kg on 1 September to ARS 1,055.56 on 4 September. The bag price then went from ARS 18,000 to 19,000.
Compared with 4 September, the latest average is 5.3% lower. Compared with 31 July, when the price was ARS 1,333.33 per kg, it is about 25% lower.
The fall comes during a period of high costs. In July, monthly consumer inflation was 2.1%, according to data cited by Argenpapa.
Why it matters
Prices are falling in nominal terms while costs keep rising. This squeezes margins for growers who sell outside contracts. It also comes as imports rose sharply in August, as Argenpapa reported earlier.
Growers in the Southeast are now preparing the next planting season. Weak prices may lead some of them to reduce area or seed purchases. Buyers can expect stable or lower wholesale prices in the short term.
Photo: Potatoes at a market in Toulouse, France (not Argentina) (illustrative). Jolesh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
