"It is like a run on the bank. We don't think there is a shortage, it is just increased shopping by customers who think there is," said Richard Galanti, Costco's chief financial officer. For now, the retailer is allowing managers of stores with short supplies to set their own rules.
Other retailers report adequate supplies.
"Ralphs has plenty of rice. No shortages at any of our stores," said Terry O'Neil, spokesman for Ralphs Grocery Co.
When Heidi Diep visited the Costco in Alhambra last week seeking rice for her Chinese fast-food restaurant in Silver Lake, the store was out of stock. It had plenty of rice when Diep went back Wednesday, but, thanks to shoppers like Diep and Yang, ran out again.
"I picked up as much as I could," Diep said as she hauled a dozen 50-pound bags of Super Lucky Elephant rice and 10 bags of 25-pound long grain into her van and her sister's sedan.
The businesswoman said she was stockpiling the grain to avoid future price increases and a repeat of the week when it couldn't be found.
Internationally, shortages of basic commodities -- including rice, wheat and some oils -- have led to protests and riots in recent months, prompting concern about food security in many poor countries.
With the exception of rising prices, the U.S. has escaped the problems seen in other countries. Some brewers have complained of shortages of certain types of hops for making high-end beers, and bakers have scrambled to find some specialty flours.
If the shortages expand to other food products that can be easily stored, the U.S. economy may take a hit.
Runs on staples such as rice have consequences for the larger economy by adding to inflation and making it harder for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to ease problems in the financial and housing markets, said Milton Ezrati, an economist at investment firm Lord, Abbett & Co. in Jersey City, N.J.
The U.S. run on rice is mostly a consumer reaction to international headlines combined with domestic food inflation that turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy, Ezrati said.
The futures-market price of U.S.-grown long-grain rice -- the type that is in short supply worldwide -- has risen 73% this year to $24.82 for 100 pounds as other countries shut off exports.
More heavy purchasing of rice will just move American inventory from warehouses and store shelves into cupboards or the storerooms of restaurants, putting pressure on supplies and prices and "compounding the problem," Ezrati said.
