Wholesale prices of rice were stable or rose in June 2024 across the subregion, despite seasonal downward pressure. In Brazil, in spite of the recently completed harvest, prices rose by 5 percent month-on-month in the flood‑affected Rio Grande do Sul State due to a below-average harvest, exacerbated by high international prices, amid increasing needs for imports to satisfy domestic demand. In Paraguay, prices continued to rise by 6 percent on a monthly basis in June and reached record-highs, supported by tight supplies from the below‑average 2024 harvest and larger year-on-year exports in the first five months of the year. In these two countries, prices of rice were about 45 percent higher year-on-year owing to the below-average harvests in 2023 and 2024. In the countries where the 2024 first harvest was recently completed, prices rose in most markets of Ecuador, while they were stable across major markets of Colombia. In Uruguay, prices rose for the second consecutive month, amid strong international demand, albeit to a lesser extent than in the previous month. Prices were near their year‑earlier levels in Colombia, while they were higher year-on-year in Ecuador and Uruguay.

Wholesale prices of yellow maize rose in June 2024 in most countries of the subregion, with the notable exception of Brazil, where prices continued to decrease, with seasonal supplies from the ongoing main season harvest. However, in Rio Grande do Sul State, prices rose by 6 percent month‑on‑month due to reduced transport and commercial operations, on account of flooding in early May. Across the major markets of Brazil, prices were near or slightly higher year-on-year. In Argentina, prices strengthened for the fourth consecutive month in June, as downward pressure from the ongoing harvest was more than offset by the lower-than-expected output, affected by leafhoppers. Prices were about 235 percent above their year‑earlier levels due to the drought‑stricken 2023 harvest and the devaluation of the Argentine peso in December 2023. In Uruguay, after declining in the past five months, prices rose slightly in June, on account of strong international demand, but were 50 percent lower year-on‑year, reflecting ample supplies from the bumper harvest in 2024. Prices also rose in Colombia ahead of the start of the minor crop harvest, but were 16 percent lower year-on‑year due to the above‑average 2023 output. In Plurinational State of Bolivia, prices rose by 5 percent month-on-month in the main producing department of Santa Cruz, reflecting concerns over the impact of dryness on crops, soon to be harvested. In Paraguay, prices were stable in June, as seasonal downward pressure on prices was offset by the dryness-affected 2024 main season harvest and were 6 percent higher year-on-year.

Similarly, wholesale prices of wheat increased in June 2024 across the subregion. In Argentina, the subregion’s major wheat exporter, prices rose slightly in June, to a lesser extent in the past two months, as upward pressure from seasonally tight supplies were limited by good planting progress, aided by recent beneficial rains. Prices remained about 200 percent higher than a year earlier, after two consecutive years of below-average harvests. In Brazil, prices rose for the third consecutive month in the two major producing states, supported by seasonally tight supplies and the currency weakening in June. Prices were 5 percent above their levels a year ago due to the lower year-on‑year harvest attained in 2023. In Uruguay, after a period of relative stability, wheat prices rose by 6 percent month-on-month in line with seasonality and were about 30 percent below their values a year ago, reflecting the above‑average 2023 harvest. Prices strengthened marginally in Chile and were slightly below their year-earlier levels. In the major wheat importing countries, wholesale prices of wheat flour remained unchanged for the third consecutive month in June in Ecuador and declined in most markets of Colombia. In these two countries, prices were down from their year‑earlier levels, reflecting lower year-on-year international quotations.