Brazil: Belém potato prices ease 6.25% in September but remain almost 40% higher than in January

Retail potato prices in Belém, the capital of the northern Brazilian state of Pará, fell from R$9.28 to R$8.70 per kilogram in September. The decline barely dents a year of steep increases: over the past 12 months, potatoes have risen 49.23%, nearly twelve times faster than local inflation.

Potatoes became cheaper in Belém in September, but consumers in the Amazonian city are still paying far more than at the start of the year. According to the Pará office of DIEESE, Brazil’s inter-union department of statistics and socio-economic studies, the average retail price of potatoes at street markets and supermarkets fell 6.25% month on month to R$8.70/kg. The figures come from DIEESE/PA’s monthly survey of fruit and vegetable prices, released on 14 October.

Among the sharpest monthly falls

Of the 24 fresh produce items tracked by DIEESE/PA, potatoes recorded the second-largest monthly decline. Only green peppers fell further (−7.80%, to R$11.11/kg), with carrots in third place (−4.76%, to R$9.01/kg). In total, 16 of the 24 items were cheaper than in August.

The market did not move uniformly, however. Eight products rose in price, including onions, which climbed 5.83% to R$7.99/kg.

A year of strong increases

September’s correction amounted to R$0.58/kg, a modest figure against a 39.42% increase since the beginning of 2026. Working back from the published percentages, potatoes cost roughly R$6.24/kg at the start of the year and around R$5.83/kg in September 2025.

Potatoes rank third among the vegetables with the largest price increases this year:

The 49.23% annual rise compares with general inflation in Belém of 4.22% over the same period, as estimated by DIEESE/PA. In real terms, that means potatoes are around 43% more expensive than a year ago.

Supply normalising

DIEESE/PA attributes September’s decline to a normalisation of supply and improved production and distribution conditions. This is consistent with the national picture: DIEESE and Conab, Brazil’s national supply company, reported that potato prices fell in every city in the country’s Centre-South surveyed between July and August 2026.

Distance is the defining factor for Belém. The city relies largely on other states for its potatoes, onions, carrots and beetroot, so shifts in production, heavy rainfall and transport costs feed directly into retail prices. Brazil’s main potato-growing regions lie in the south and south-east, thousands of kilometres from Pará.

October relief may be short-lived

Early signs for October are mixed. A vegetable trader at Belém’s Guamá market told the local newspaper O Liberal that some prices had begun rising again in line with wholesale prices at the city’s central supply market (Ceasa), and that he was now selling potatoes, onions, carrots and other vegetables at R$9 instead of R$7. He expects further upward pressure ahead of the holiday season, with a more lasting easing only after Christmas.

DIEESE/PA also highlights significant price differences for the same products between street markets, municipal markets and supermarkets.

A note on the data

The figures come from a dedicated DIEESE/PA survey of fresh produce prices in Belém. Potatoes are not part of the national DIEESE/Conab basic food basket in Brazil’s north and north-east, where cassava flour is surveyed instead, so these numbers are not directly comparable with national potato price series.

Sources

• Argenpapa, 15 October 2026: Brasil (Belém): La papa bajó 6,25% en septiembre, pero acumula un aumento de 39,4% durante 2026
• O Liberal, 14 October 2026: Hortaliças ficam mais baratas em Belém, mas cebola sobe 60% no ano
• DIEESE/Conab, August 2026 bulletin: Pesquisa Nacional da Cesta Básica de Alimentos