Brazil: Rains Stall Wet-Season Potato Planting in Rio Grande do Sul, Only 5% Sown
Heavy rainfall throughout September has delayed wet-season potato planting around Bom Jesus in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, with only about 5% of the planned area in the ground by the end of the month — half the pace growers had initially expected, according to Cepea’s Hortifrúti report.
Waterlogged fields disrupted soil preparation and planting, with frequent interruptions continuing into the final week of September. Growers hope to recover some of the lost time in October, although rain forecast for the region could keep field operations restricted, as Brazilian outlet Notícias Agrícolas also reported on 17 October.
The delay is not just a scheduling problem. Planting into wet soil can compromise crop establishment and yields, and growers now expect that much of the remaining area will have to go in under less-than-ideal conditions, FreshPlaza noted on 16 October.
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The clock is working against them. Most planting in Bom Jesus needs to be completed by December so the crop cycle can finish by the second half of February — a window designed to limit the crop’s exposure to high summer temperatures. Every week of further rain eats into that margin.
The planting setback follows a volatile stretch for Brazilian potato markets, where September rains already stalled winter-crop harvests in other regions and pushed prices sharply higher. Wet-season production in Rio Grande do Sul is one of the supply lines that determines whether the market tightens further in early 2027.
For now, growers in Bom Jesus are watching the forecast rather than the field: October rain will decide whether the 5% figure catches up towards the normal pace, or whether the 2026/27 wet-season crop starts the season with a structural delay.
Sources: Cepea/HF Brasil; Notícias Agrícolas; FreshPlaza.
