Run on rice makes its way to U.S.
Worried about rising prices worldwide, customers have been stocking up, prompting sales limits.
The global run on food that has led to shortages and riots in Egypt, Haiti and other nations has made its way to U.S. shores.
Concerned about rising prices and limited supplies of staples such as rice and flour, customers across the country have been cleaning out the shelves at big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Sam's Club and Costco Wholesale Corp. stores.
On Wednesday, Sam's Club said customers would no longer be allowed to purchase more than four bags of jasmine, basmati or long-grain white rice on each visit.
Sam's Club blamed the restriction on "supply and demand trends" and said it was working with suppliers "to ensure we are in stock."
The policy involves only bags weighing 20 pounds or more and does not affect smaller packages sold at the store or its sister Wal-Mart outlets.
This week, Costco said it had seen sales of flour, rice and some cooking oils leap. Some Costco stores already have held customers to just two bags of rice a day, but the chain doesn't plan to limit sales nationwide.
By midafternoon Wednesday, the Costco in Alhambra -- which had not placed limits on purchases -- said it had run out of rice.
Earlier in the day, Michael Yang, manager of Hawaiian barbecue restaurants in Pico Rivera and West Covina, had decided it was time to stock up. He bought 46 bags of medium-grain rice, 50 pounds each, at the Alhambra Costco and loaded them into his white van.
He paid $15.39 each, which he called a bargain compared with premium brands from Thailand that have recently nearly doubled in price to $40 for a 50-pound bag.
"The price of everything -- oil, sugar -- has been going up for months, and rice has been an issue for a few weeks already. Everyone else is doing the same thing I am because they use up their rice so fast," Yang said in Mandarin.
Prices for many foods, including beer, bread, coffee, pizza and rice, are rising rapidly as the nation contends with its worst bout of food inflation since 1990. The cost of groceries is climbing at an annual rate of about 5% this year.
Retail experts said there was little evidence of "panic" hoarding by the public. It appears that restaurants and smaller retailers have been buying up most of the stock on the expectation that prices will continue to rise.
Still, shoppers' actions have taken some stores by surprise.
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- Supermarket Strike Gives Boost to Costco Earnings Mar 04, 2004
