60 NET RETURN OVER COST SOCIAL SCIENTISTTABLE IV D PER HECTARE OF WHEAT AND POTATO IN(in rupees per hect 1975-76 are) Burdwan Bankura Hooghly West Be ngal Net return on wheat on price of Rs. 150 per quintal. Net return on potato at harvest price. 651.69 600.47 35.82 1688.18 226.76 1875.91 493.^ 1199.< 18 ?5 Rs.150 per quintal of wheat may have other implications in terms of the distortion ofinter-crop price parity and in terms of its effect upon consumers (unless simultaneously the price to consumers is subsidised). In the absence of such a subsidy, the higher consumer price that will be charged may in fact call forth a degree of consumer resistance which may even blunt the incentive effect of the higher procurement price. Thus, simply raising the procurement price in line with bulk-line costs may lead to unpredictable results and cannot be recommended off-hand. This only highlights the intricacies of the problem of price fixation for wheat in West Bengal. ASWINI PAL* ARUNENDU MUKHOPADHYAY** 1 N Krishnaji, "State Intervention and Foodgrain Prices", Social Scientist, Jan-Feb 1975, p 85. •Lecturer and ** Reader in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya, West Bengal