Argentina: Potato Imports From Brazil Soar 14-Fold in August as Wholesale Prices Climb
Argentina imported 8,139 tonnes of potatoes in August, all from Brazil, against 565 tonnes a year earlier, the Buenos Aires Mercado Central reports. Exports fell 69%.
Argentina imported 8,139.2 tonnes of potatoes in August 2026, compared with 565.1 tonnes in August 2025, an increase of 1,340%, according to the monthly federal monitoring report of the Corporación del Mercado Central de Buenos Aires, the country’s main wholesale market. All of the imports came from Brazil.
Exports moved in the opposite direction. Argentina shipped 1,632.24 tonnes of potatoes in August, down 69.4% from 5,339.45 tonnes a year earlier.
Prices
The average wholesale price of potatoes at the Mercado Central was ARS 1,276.51 per kg in August, 6.8% more than in July (ARS 1,194.89), the report shows. For its year-on-year comparison the report uses a different price series, which puts the August average at ARS 1,384.55 per kg, 240.5% above ARS 406.59 in August 2025. Part of the increase reflects general inflation in Argentina.
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Arrivals of potatoes at the market were 20% lower than a year earlier and about 6% higher than in July. Supply came mainly from Córdoba, Villa Dolores and south-east Buenos Aires province, with the highest prices paid for potatoes from Córdoba.
The figures were also reported by the specialist site Argenpapa, which draws on the same report. Argenpapa separately reported last week that potatoes were being shipped to Argentina from Vargem Grande do Sul in Brazil, without giving volumes.
Context
Brazil is harvesting its winter crop while rain slows the harvest in Vargem Grande do Sul. Argentina normally exports small volumes of potatoes to neighbouring countries and imports little.
Why it matters
A fourteen-fold rise in imports turns Argentina, at least for now, into a net importer of fresh potatoes and changes trade flows within Mercosur. For Argentine growers in Córdoba and Buenos Aires province, Brazilian supply sets a ceiling on the rally in wholesale prices. For Brazilian exporters, Argentina has become an outlet at a time when rain is disrupting their own harvest. Buyers on both sides should watch the next monthly report to see whether the flow continues in the coming months.
Photo: Entrance to the Mercado Central de Buenos Aires (illustrative). Gervacio Rosales / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
