Rice Rationing At US Stores

CupofJoe points us to an article in the Washington Post that says retailers like Sam’s Club and CostCo are beginning to limit the sale of wholesale size packs of rice possibly because of panic buying by restaurants and delicatessens concerned about the increasing impact of the food crisis. WP says:

The two biggest U.S. warehouse retail chains are limiting how much rice customers can buy because of what Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, called yesterday “recent supply and demand trends.”

The moves come as U.S. rice futures hit a record high on global food inflation, although one rice expert said the warehouse chains may be reacting more to stockpiling by restaurants and small stores than to shortages. Sam’s Club said it would limit customers to four bags at a time of imported jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice.

David Coia, USA Rice Federation spokesman, said there is no rice shortage in the United States. “It’s possible that small restaurants and bodega-type neighborhood stores may be purchasing rice in larger quantities than they do typically to avoid higher prices,” Coia said about the warehouse chain restrictions.

Washington Post