US starts rationing food

April 25, 2008THE global food crisis has reached the United States as big retailers began to ration sales of rice in response to bulk purchases by customers alarmed by rocketing prices of staples.

Wal-Mart's cash-and-carry division, Sam's Club, announced on Wednesday it would sell a maximum of four bags of rice per person to prevent supplies from running short. This follows sporadic caps on purchases of rice and flour at a rival bulk chain, Costco, in California.

The global price of rice has risen 68 per cent since the start of this year, but in some US shops the price has doubled in weeks.

Retail experts said there was little evidence of panic hoarding by the public but that restaurants and smaller retailers were buying up stocks
at wholesalers in the expectation that the cost would go even higher.
Shops said Filipino residents in the US were also making large purchases to send to relatives in the Philippines, where a shortage of supplies is causing concern.

"What you're seeing is people who buy in larger quantities, who have a restaurant or a corner store, stocking up because of media reports that prices could go higher," said Dave Heylen, spokesman for the California Grocers Association.

The price of staple foods has been rising at an ccelerating rate across the world, driven by what the United Nations has called a "perfect storm" of rising demand from developing countries such as China and India, the impact of climate change and government policy.

This year, rice-producing countries including China, India, Vietnam and Egypt have imposed limits on exports to keep domestic prices down. This week, a top World Bank official predicted that Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, might restrict shipments.

Andrew Clark in New York and Rory Carroll in Caracas
Original Source: Guardian News & Media via Sydney Morning Herald