KOLKATA: Why is the price of potato high in Kolkata's markets when there is surplus production of the vegetable and cold storages are brimming with stock? TOI investigation shows the price of the Jyoti variety of potato that is consumed by more than two-thirds of Kolkata households more than doubles while making the 40-km journey from cold storages in Hooghly's Ratanpur to the city's markets, changing hands four to five times on the way.The producers (farmers) and the consumers at the two ends of the supply chain bear the brunt while a string of phoreys (middlemen) pocket the maximum profit.With cold storages already stocked up with 14.5 lakh tonnes of potato, and new crop set to arrive for storage by December-end, the price started nosediving at the producer end since the first week of November.

Offtake of the huge stock will be tough before December since the monthly consumption of Jyoti potato in Bengal is around four lakh tonnes.

A 50 kg bag of potato that is now selling at Rs 450 (Rs 9 per kg) on its release from the cold storage is exchanging many hands and finally landing at the city retail market at Rs 850 (Rs17 a kg).

Individual retailers are then charging Rs 20-22 per kg from consumers.Trade insiders say under no circumstances should the retail price of potato be more than Rs 14 per kg, even after leaving a good margin for the chain of phoreys.

Lalu Mukherjee, chairman of Paschimbanga Pragatishil Alu Byabsayee Samiti said, "It is unfair.

We can't understand why the retail potato price in Kolkata and its adjoining retail markets are so high.

The government must have greater surveillance on the supply chain to keep the price in check to give relief to consumers." After spending Rs 25,000 per bigha of potato crops, Keshab Ghosh, a potato farmer at Tarakeswar, makes a profit of only Rs 1 per kg of produce, which is unsustainable.

"I am probably the last of my family's four generations of potato farmers.

My sons don't find potato farming remunerative enough," he said.

Aritra Dasgupta, a farm economist, said, "The very equilibrium of potato production gets disturbed when one of the middlemen in the supply chain earns more than the farmer who grows it.

Even the Rs 3-5 per kg profit made by the retailer is a bit off balance." Bengal panchayat minister Pradip Mazumdar said, "The government has a robust system of market surveillance.

But it is a matter of concern when the farmer doesn't get the right price.

We have to stop crying foul whenever there is a slight rise in the prices of farm products.

If we do that farmers will not get their dues."