Wal-mart restricts rice purchases

Wal-mart restricts rice purchases

news.bbc.co.uk

Sam's Club, Wal-Mart's cash-and-carry division, says customers can buy a maximum of four bags per visit.

The limit applies to jasmine, basmati and long grain white rice.

The international price of rice has risen by 68% this year and Wal-Mart said the restrictions were "due to recent supply and demand trends".

There are more than 550 Sam's Club stores in the US.

With food prices rising, customers have been buying basic goods in bulk.

Wal-Mart said it was not restricting the amounts of flour or oil customers can purchase "at this time".

The prices of soybeans, corn and wheat have also soared and are currently near their all-time peaks.

Rice-producing countries like Vietnam and India have curbed exports to keep domestic prices under control and there are fears that Thailand - the world's largest rice exporter - could follow suit.

Rice shortages have sparked protests in several countries including the Philippines, Haiti and Egypt.

Wal-Mart said it was working with suppliers to address the shortage

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Wal-mart is limiting the amount of rice people can buy. I sort of see this as a good thing. Hopefully that would mean more rice is available in those countries where it is a staple.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Besides the fact I refuse to shop at mal-warts, preferring to give my money to local businesses... I find the thought of them, of all places the defacto temple of excess, and holy ground for many Americans limiting any food purchases extremely disturbing... its not like they have much of a social conscious or any thing like that, which would get in the way of profits... if they are limiting rice purchases in America, it must really getting bad out there.

I dont see it as a good thing at all. Many places that are suffering right now have food, but many people just can't afford it. Haiti, Indonesia, etc.

Its about the idiotic oil prices and fuel costs affecting agricultural goods, not to mention that speculators have driven commodities into moronic price levels .


[edit on 23/4/08 by MikeboydUS]

reply to post by MikeboydUS


Its really all about 30 years warning (the 70's oil crisis) and a functional inability to do anything that would address the problem in a meaningful way... its only starting to get worse, just wait.

Ok, people let me tell again, US has not food shortage of any kind. The hype on this news is due to the problems in California because a big group of Asian and Chinese living in there and some other small areas in the US.

The shortage in Asia and China is making family members in the US starting to run to the stores buying rice to send back home.

America produces plenty of rice to feed our nation and export, but US is also having problems with the exports.

So while other countries around the world will be having problems, we have plenty of rice to share.

But the prices for it are to high for the people in the countries with need.

As usual the markets speculators trying to bust the prices for rice are creating this hype or shortage in the US

Is nothing but speculation.

[edit on 23-4-2008 by marg6043]

I did think this whole food stockpiling thing was a bit mad but now I'm not so sure. Now I'm worried that everyone is going to start panic buying soon. What a mess.

I don't even have a permanent home at the moment so even if I wanted to store some food I couldn't :p

I agree with you Marg but just wait... thats why I garden.

reply to post by grover



I won't be surprised if by this summer regular unleaded is over $5/gallon, all Walmart stores limit purchases of rice, flour, and oil (which have increased their price by 100%). ExxonMobil will have its biggest quarterly profit ever, the Dow Jones will be doing ok, $2 will roughly equal One Euro, and for some bizarre reason Silver will still be stuck between $17-19 an ounce. Oh and some of the airlines will either be bailed out or declare bankruptcy.

reply to post by grover


I watch the markets news everyday, this news have been all over the CNBC and the explanation of the hype was given.

US citizens only consume about 10 percent of the rice produced in our nation, while China, Asia and Korea consume about 150 percent or their produced rice.

While US have plenty to sell to these nations the problem is that the people can not afford the imported US rice.

The markets experts are blaming the speculators, you know the ones that also are at fault for the oil prices they are the ones creating a mass hysteria about shortage in order to make a buck out of the mess.

I see two main issues causing the worldwide food shortages.

1. Fear of GM food products. Sadly there's quite a few starving nations in the world that won't accept them. Now I can see the reasoning behind not wanting GM products and all, but when people are starving I don't think there's much room to be picky.

2. Too expensive to ship food these days. With the way fuel prices have gone up it raises the price of everything, including food.

Believe it of not America produces the fanciest of the type of long and medium long grain rice in the world.

The rice farmers in California are having a blast with the worlds shortage as they see it as an opportunity to make money, I don't blame them.

The cheapest variation of long rice is the one that is in shortage.

I am Spanish but we prefer the short grain type, I hate cooking with long rice.