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Brown in America

Rice shortage hits shortage, no need to panic, yet

By: Santosh :+: Under: Brown in America, Business, Food
On: ⋅ April 25, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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After curry leaves on the West Coast, it’s the next big shortage to hit desi kitchens in the US is that of chaaval (rice). [1]

Rice shortages hit US desi community
img: via CNN

Limits placed on sales of several kinds of rice by Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Sam’s Club warehouse division are meant to stop large distributors or wholesalers from depleting its stock, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.

In what should come as a major blow to restaurant owners, each customer is restricted to only four bags of rice per visit.

The chain said on Wednesday that it was limiting sales of 20-pound (9 kg) bulk bags of Jasmine, Basmati and long grain white rice “due to recent supply and demand trends.”

The shortage is partly because of global food shortages and rising prices. Even in India, smuggled rice from Pakistan is in vogue. [2]

India may be worried about smuggling of drugs, arms and ammunition and infiltration of jehadis from across the border but Pakistan seems to be more concerned at the possibility of smuggling of rice, pulses and wheat from its territory.
Skyrocketing prices in India has “forced” Pakistan to send an urgent missive to its Rangers deployed along the Indo-Pak border to check any possibility of smuggling of pulses, rice, wheat and flour to India and other countries.

However, some industry experts are taking a contrary view and proclaiming there is no real shortage. [3]

Although warehouse retailers are limiting specialty rice sales, industry experts say U.S. consumers shouldn’t worry that there’s a shortage in the making.
On the contrary, production of U.S. rice - which makes up the lion’s share of domestic consumption - is expected to increase between 3% to 5% this year to about 198 million hundred-weight (hundredweight is a unit of measure equaling to 100 pounds).
Martin said he was “puzzled” by media reports that said both Costco (COST, Fortune 500), the No. 1 wholesale club operator, and rival Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), were restricting how many bags of rice people could buy.

Maybe, Walmart know something the experts don’t?

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