Sam's Club limits sale of rice
Reuters is reporting that "Sam's Club, the No. 2 U.S. warehouse club operator, said it is limiting sales of Jasmine, Basmati and long grain white rice 'due to recent supply and demand trends.'"
The story also says that Costco Wholesale Corp, the largest U.S. warehouse club operator, said yesterday that it has seen increased demand for items like rice and flour as customers stock up. Apparently, riots have broken out in other countries over food shortages and rising food prices.
Sister papaer, LATimes reports that Sam's Club "customers will no longer be allowed to purchase more than four bags of jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice per visit. The policy involves only bags of 20 pounds or larger and does not affect consumer packages." The policy is in effect at stores across the nation.
How bad is it? Rice prices have risen 68 percent since the start of 2008.
I don't shop at Sam's Club since it's just me and my dog so I don't usually buy in bulk, but has anyone else noticed any local Sam's Clubs limiting rice sales?
I also don't buy my rice in supermarkets. The closest place I'll buy a bag of jasmine rice is at the Catonsville H-Mart, but most of the time, my family and I do most of our shopping for rice and other Vietnamese staples in Falls Church, Va., where there's a Little Saigon area.
We eat a lot of rice (duh. I'm Asian! Plus, I come from a big family. When we get together, there are five girls, two boys, several in-laws and plenty of nieces and nephews to feed) so my Mama buys rice in 25-pound bags at a time. Rice was always a cheap way to feed the family, especially when we were poor growing up.
Lately, though, we've noticed rice prices going up, too. For a regular bag of rice, it used to cost about $11.99. Now, it runs about $15.99. For a bag of really sweet-smelling jasmine rice, it used to cost $15.99. Now, it's about $18.99.
Anyone know what something similar will cost you at Costco or Sam's Club? Please enlighten me and your other Consuming Interests readers.
(Photo from Getty Images)
A native of Vietnam, 
Comments
I'll shop for rice somewhere else i.e. Giant, etc.
DD: Cathy, Any idea what the prices at Giant are for rice?
Posted by: Cathy Viviano | April 24, 2008 11:50 AM
This is only the start of food rations in the USA. We need to wake up to the times we are living in. We're in a Greater Depression.
Posted by: PastorTim | April 24, 2008 4:47 PM
The price for rice at Giant, etc. $3.50? I dunno. I haven't been to the market in a while.
Posted by: Cathy Viviano | May 3, 2008 6:14 PM
I prefer Japanese-style rice, but it's also going up in price. I just bought a 5 pound bag of Calrose rice and paid over $5.50 for 5 pounds. Ouch! But, then, all food is going up fast. Thanks, Pelosi, for driving up the cost of fuel all over the world, which drives up the cost of food. Drill here. Drill now! Call Pelosi and get her worthless ... back into her office in Washington. People are suffering, and she doesn't care.
DD: er... sorry DoctorBob, I don't mind cursing, but I'm pretty sure my paper frowns on it. If you guys don't know what I deleted, it was the word after worthless and it rhymes with gas.
Posted by: DoctorBob | August 4, 2008 11:04 PM