Brazil: wholesale potato prices fall 11.6% in August as supply recovers

Prices dropped at every wholesale market monitored by Conab, bringing the national weighted average down to R$ 2.63/kg (about US$ 0.51). They nonetheless remain above 2025 levels.

Brazilian potato prices have eased for a second consecutive month. This ends a run of increases that had lasted since February. According to the ninth Horticultural Bulletin of 2026, released on 22 September by the National Supply Company (Conab), the weighted average wholesale price fell 11.6% month on month in August to R$ 2.63 per kilogram. The decline was recorded at all of the Ceasas monitored by Conab. Ceasas are Brazil’s state-run central wholesale markets for fresh produce.

At the Central Bank of Brazil’s average August exchange rate of R$ 5.15 to the US dollar, the new average is equivalent to roughly US$ 0.51/kg, or about US$ 510 per tonne. Based on the reported percentage drop, the July average would have been close to R$ 2.97/kg (around US$ 0.58).

Steepest falls in the north and south

The sharpest declines were recorded in four markets:

• Rio Branco (Acre): −46.35%
• São José (Santa Catarina): −25.66%
• Curitiba (Paraná): −22.83%
• Rio de Janeiro: −20.33%

The near-halving of prices in Rio Branco should be read with caution. It is a small market in Brazil’s remote north-west, far from the main potato-growing areas in the south and south-east, and prices there tend to swing more sharply than elsewhere. The 20–26% falls in Curitiba, São José and Rio de Janeiro are more indicative of the broader market. These three sit much closer to the country’s core production zones.

Supply catching up

Conab attributes the downturn to improved potato availability on the wholesale market.

The price correction follows a pronounced cycle. In 2025, supply exceeded market needs and prices slumped. According to Conab, this discouraged growers from repeating that level of production in 2026. Reduced output then underpinned the price rally of the first half of the year. Now the arrival of new-crop potatoes is gradually bringing the market back into balance. Despite the August drop, wholesale prices remain higher than in the same period of 2025.

Broader vegetable picture

Potatoes were not alone in getting cheaper. The same bulletin shows lettuce down 14.8% and onions down 13.8% on average. Tomatoes were the only major vegetable to rise, climbing 18.13% as supply tightened after the winter harvest peaked in July.

Conab’s monthly analysis forms part of the Brazilian Programme for the Modernisation of the Horticultural Market (Prohort). It tracks the products that carry the most weight in Ceasa trade and in Brazil’s IPCA consumer price index.

Source: Conab, 9th Horticultural Bulletin 2026; Argenpapa