Argentina: The cost of producing a bag of potatoes far exceeds what producers receive on the market.
The current crisis in the potato sector, particularly in Argentina, is characterized by an oversupply of product, a drastic drop in market prices and a significant increase in production costs.
Potato production costs include items such as soil preparation, planting, input use (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), phytosanitary control, irrigation, harvesting, and marketing. These include costs such as land rental and labor, as well as general and administrative expenses.
According to the cost calculated for a producer in the Southeast of Buenos Aires, who grows 50 ha and obtains an average yield of 2,500 bags of 20 kg/ha, the items highlighted in the attached table are headed by marketing and freight, which reach 24.12%, followed by harvesting (17.52%), irrigation (including equipment rental and expenses, 16.85%), and seed (11.28%), reaching a total of US$ 10,646/ha.
It is worth noting that currently, given the situation of potato production in the country, the price received by the producer is around $3,000 to $4,000/bag in the Central Market , about 50% below the cost of production, which for the average yield mentioned, reaches $6,175/bag placed in the MCBA .
Fuente: Argenpapa
