Bangladesh: Is there a potato syndicate, or a potato shortage?

The price of any commodity produced on farms generally falls during harvest time because of excess supply in the market. But the price of potato went up immediately after the recent harvest. It was alleged that a "syndicate" (cartel) had created an artificial price increase. However, potato farmers, traders and agriculture researchers say that the farm gate price of potatoes (the price at which farmers sell) increased quickly this year because of a shortfall in potato output caused by adverse weather. Falling yield increased enhanced cost of production. In the days before the harvest, the stock of potatoes from the previous year’s harvest had dwindled, and supply was low. Those who have a deep understanding of the potato market rule out the possibility of price manipulation by any cartel. They argue that there are so many players in the potato market that it is simply impossible to form a cartel, because potatoes are grown by over one lakh farmers and traded by thousands of ...