Ecuador: Wholesale Price of Súper Chola Potatoes Up 55% Since May
A quintal of Súper Chola potatoes cost $38.33 at wholesale by 13 September, up from $24.67 in early May, according to Ecuador's agricultural price system SIPA.
The wholesale price of Súper Chola potatoes, Ecuador’s main table variety, has risen by 55.4% since May, according to data from the agriculture ministry’s public price information system SIPA reported by the newspapers Expreso and La República.
In the first week of May, a quintal of Súper Chola cost $24.67 at wholesale. By 13 September the price had reached $38.33, both newspapers report. Ecuador uses the US dollar as its currency; a quintal is about 45 kg. The increase amounts to $13.66 per quintal in just over four months, or roughly 30 US cents per kilogram at wholesale.
Potatoes are part of a wider rise in food prices. Over the same period, green plantain rose 73.1%, from $7.70 to $13.33 a bunch, eggs 25% and chicken 17.3%, according to the reports.
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La República attributes the increases to climate factors, fluctuations in the cost of farm inputs and logistics problems. Neither report gives a potato-specific cause or names the regions most affected.
Context
Súper Chola is grown mainly in the central Andean highlands. The price rise comes as El Niño conditions strengthen along the Pacific coast of South America. El Niño has passed its 2015 peak as the southern-hemisphere planting season opens, and neighbouring Peru is reporting higher potato prices linked to disease and drought.
Why it matters
A 55% rise in the wholesale price of the country’s main potato variety matters for both growers and consumers. For growers with potatoes to sell, the current price is a window of opportunity; for those planting now, the key question is whether El Niño will disrupt the next harvest and keep prices high. Buyers and processors in Ecuador should plan for continued volatility through the coming season. The next SIPA data releases will show whether the rise continues after September or eases as new supply reaches the wholesale markets.
Photo: Llapingachos, Ecuadorian potato patties, at the market in Baños (illustrative). young shanahan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
