Can we say "Rice Wars"?
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Sam’s Club and Costco begin limiting how much rice customers can buy because of “recent supply and demand trends.” Prices on the staple have risen sharply, but feds deny there's any shortage


BENTONVILLE, Ark. - 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 Inc., called on Wednesday “recent supply and demand trends.”

The broader chain of Wal-Mart stores has no plans to limit food purchases, however.

The move comes as U.S. rice futures hit a record high amid global food inflation, although one rice expert said the warehouse chains may be reacting less to any shortages than to stockpiling by restaurants and small stores.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24278083/

Gee! Does this mean that we will only get a handfull of beans if the Dems take over?

Mike was so anxious about the economy a mopnth or so back that I laid in 50 pounds of rice from Sam's Club. Just about every sealable container I have is filled! He wants to get rid of my good Lenox china to make more room for staples. As if! We still have huge cases of freeze dried foods from the Y2K scare. I told him we should start eating some of it since it's only good for 30 years.

Oy vay!

Gee! Does this mean that we will only get a handfull of beans if the Dems take over?
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Mexican jumping beans

Rice is a problem for the same reason that oil is - speculators. The problem is not that there is any shortage of rice - the problem is that there is a shortage of cheap or reasonbly priced rice.

Just like gas - we are all out of that $1.00 a gallon gas, but we got all of that $3.50 a gallon gas that you need.

Aren't Sam's and Cosco, more or less, wholesale outlets? As long as it is available in retail stores, there shouldn't be a major problem - Unless you are preparing for Armageddon, or opening a Chinese restaurant. Much ado about nothing.

PS: You can still by staples like flour, or oats, or corn meal in bulk.

JackB's prediction # 12,348: Food shortages, and specifically rice shortages will be talked up more and more over the next week or two. It will be declared necessary for the West to step in and prevent people in poor countries from starving because they cannot afford food at the radically escalating prices.

Charity and governmental relief agencies will then buy huge warehouses full of rice from the speculators at ridiculously inflated prices to give to hungry people who could have bought their own had not the specultors driven the prices up in the first place.

Well we gotta back to Vietnam now and take it from them. Heck were in Iraq to get more oil, but they won't let us have it. There is a lot of Rice in Vietnam.

Yeah, but they have cut their exports in the last few years because they need more of their rice for their own growing population.

Viet Nam first quarter rice exports to rise 11.6% -- govt



Reuters
First Posted 20:29:00 04/25/2008


HA NOI -- Viet Nam's rice exports in the first four months of this year are estimated to increase 11.6 percent from a year ago to 1.57 million tons, the government said on Friday.

The accumulated shipment accounted for nearly half the government target to ship 3.2 million tons to 3.5 million tons in the first nine months of this year.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20080425-132739/Viet-Nam-first-quarter-rice-exports-to-rise-116----govt

Hmmm...the article that I read said the exports were being reduced. Maybe they were talking about percentages. If not, it kind of supports what I was saying about speculators.