The prices currently hover in a range of Rs 280-310 for 60-kg bags in the wholesale market in Calcutta, while the retail prices are Rs 6-8 per kg. Market traders say with the panchayat polls around the corner, local politicians, do not want to initiate measures to stem the rising prices as they want to appease the farmers. The polls are scheduled around the last week of May. The president of the Hindustan Chambers of Trade & Industry, Mahesh Singhania, said "this year the farmers are refusing to handover the crop at the pre-determined prices of Rs 100-120 per 60-kg bag. They are demanding an excess of Rs 50 and the dealers are likely to pay the excess demand as the wholesale prices are shooting up."

"In this scenario the role of the local political leaders become very important. But with the panchayat elections around the leaders are not interfering," Singhania said. "In fact they are likelyto ensure that the farmers get the best deal, pushing up the prices further," he added.

The summer crop of potato has been a disaster in West Bengal this year, specially because of the unseasonal rains in January-February. That apart, the state farmers are also not happy with the quality of seeds that was used this year. The seeds used in this state normally come from Punjab which had yielded a bumper crop last year.

According to the joint secretary of the West Bengal Cold Storage Association, Keka Sharma, only 70 per cent of the cold storage space has been booked at present. Sources say that of the total capacity of 30 lakh tonnes storage capacity nearly half the capacity is lying idle.

The state minister for agricultural marketing, Biran Mitra had, in the meantime, failed in his efforts to procure potato from other states as the situation in the neighbouring states is equally bad.

Potato is grown in West Bengal in the districts of Howrah, Hooghly, Bardhaman and a few other districts. According tothe joint general secretary of the state AITUC, Debasish Dutta, "there have been cases where potatoes have been taken straight from the field to Bihar".

More than 3 lakh kgs of potato seems to have left the state from the Hooghly district alone this way, he said.

This is the second consecutive year when the potato crop has faced problems in the state. Last year a bumper crop saw retail prices fall to around Re 1.75 per kg, while in the fields farmers sold potato for a price as low as Rs 20 per 60-kg bag.

West Bengal government had imposed a ban on movement of potatoes to other states and as a result they rotted due to lack of major buyers. The ban has been lifted last year and buyers from other states began procuring potatoes straight from the fields resulting in a scarcity in Bengal market.

The marketing of potato in the state follows a peculiar routine where dealers book space with the cold storages as well as certain quantities of the crop with farmers at the seeding stage. Later they pick up thecrop and load it into the storages. The storages issue bonds to the dealers against the crop deposited. These bonds are transferable and often dealers indulge in speculative trade in the bonds.