Tucumán Potatoes Ease at Buenos Aires’ Mercado Central as Northern Supply Builds
The top price for Tucumán potatoes at Buenos Aires’ Mercado Central fell to ARS 24,000 per bag as northern supply increased.
Tucumán potatoes traded at ARS 22,000–24,000 per 18-kilo bag at the Buenos Aires Central Market, down 11.1% from the early-October peak, as twenty truckloads of northern origin improved supply.
Argentina’s main wholesale market is breathing easier. The reference quote for potatoes from Tucumán province fell to a maximum of ARS 24,000 per 18-kilo bag at the Mercado Central de Buenos Aires, Argenpapa reported on 10 October.
During the session, Tucumán produce traded between ARS 22,000 and ARS 24,000 per bag, at an average of ARS 23,000. The new maximum represents a drop of ARS 3,000 per bag from the ARS 27,000 peak recorded a few days earlier — an 11.1% decline from that level. The driver was supply: the market registered 20 trucks carrying Tucumán potatoes, making the province the leading origin within available offer. Each truck represents roughly 1,500 bags of 18 kilos, putting Tucumán’s arrival at about 30,000 bags, subject to each unit’s actual load. The increased inflow improved supply and pressed quotes down after the early-month rise.
Price differentiation by origin remains sharp. Jujuy potatoes continued to command the highest values, at ARS 26,000–27,000 per bag with an average of ARS 26,500. Brushed potatoes from Buenos Aires province’s southeast ranged ARS 25,000–27,000, while conventional produce from the same region traded at just ARS 16,000–18,000. Córdoba reached ARS 23,000–24,000, San Luis ARS 21,000–23,000, and Villa Dolores ARS 20,000–22,000.
The spread within Buenos Aires province itself is instructive: brushed produce from the southeast commands ARS 25,000–27,000 — close to Jujuy’s top-tier values — while conventional potatoes from the same region trade at just ARS 16,000–18,000. Preparation and presentation, in other words, can be worth as much as origin at the market gate. Argenpapa expects prices to keep differentiating by quality, calibre, presentation and brand recognition as the season progresses. The northern build-up also carries a seasonality story: Tucumán’s rising share coincides with the ebb in shipments from other producing regions, and the outlet’s related coverage adds context from Jujuy — the province’s campaign is improving, but high seed costs reduced the planted area there, a constraint that could firm northern quotes later on.
The growing presence of Tucumán potatoes coincides with the seasonal decline in shipments from other producing regions. Argenpapa notes that the evolution of arrivals from Tucumán and Jujuy will be decisive for market behaviour in the coming days, with prices continuing to differentiate by quality, calibre, presentation and brand recognition.
The Argentine correction fits a broader Latin American pattern this October. Taken together, the region’s potato markets are moving in opposite directions country by country — a function of local harvest calendars and weather rather than any shared continental trend.
