Sunday April 27, 2008 
Sunday April 27, 2008
NY paper reports food rationing appearing in US
This article belongs to the Global food crisis story arc.
kptm.com, newsroomamerica.com -> nysun.com :
Food shortages and rationing has been a third-world problem as of late, but recently, the phenomenon once thought unthinkable in the United States could start happening. The New York Sun newspaper is reporting that major retailers on both coasts are limiting customers' purchases of flour, rice and cooking oil. The Sun reports that a Costco Warehouse in California ran out of rice, frustrating shoppers. Most Costco members were only allowed to buy only one bag. One clerk reportedly dropped two sacks back on the stack after taking them from a customer who tried to buy more than the one bag limit.
Shoppers said the limits had been in place for a few days, and that rice supplies had been spotty for a few weeks. A New York Costco reportedly was not restricting rice, but is limiting oil and flour. Rumors floating on the Internet say that bakery owners bought up flour at warehouse stores after their commercial suppliers doubled their prices. Spiking food prices have led to riots in recent weeks in Haiti, Indonesia, and several African nations. India recently banned export of all but the highest quality rice, and Vietnam blocked the signing of a new contract for foreign rice sales.
- One of the last places you would expect a food shortage would be the U.S. but yet here we are. This reminds me of the Japan running out of butter case.
See also :
1. Thai rice price at new record high of US$1000 a tonne as Asian food crisis worsens
2. Global food crisis looms as Asia's rice bowl empties and world price soars
3. High food prices seen leading to strikes, protests in Asia
(2008-04-27 15:48:31 SGT)
[Biz]
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Just to be clear, as far as I know there is no shortage of rice here in the US. There seems to be plenty on the shelves of the supermarkets. Ditto for wheat flour, etc.
But the prices on those commodities are going way up.
What is happening is that some small restaurant owners are buying huge quantities to stockpile in expectation that prices will move even higher. They typically buy at the "warehouse retail" stores like Sam's Club and Costco, where they can buy the huge bags that they need for their businesses. Those are the stores that are running out of inventory.
Posted by Doug on April 29, 2008 at 04:13 AM SGT #