If the growers prices have remained pretty constant over the last few years there may be collusion or price fixing. If the growers prices have risen to a livable amount there may be no issue.

It was not that many years ago that growers in eastern Canada where only getting about a nickel a pound. Transportation of product will have experienced a legitimate increase as well.

My personal thoughts for a long time where the retail chains were taking too heavy a bite on product sales. Or at least here in Canada. Potato prices do seem to have made a serious upward leap in the last year or so. As high as sixty cents a pound retail locally in the last year.

Their phony defense as retailers is there overall low posted returns as companies. They structure other things like real estate investments as costs to enable this. A local company just spent 5.8 billion in cash for a chain primarily out in western Canada. These poor poor companies or semi monopolies claiming a 1 to 2 percent profit on operations. Even if they beat the middleman or potato marketing structure do not expect retail prices to fall off.