So long as I avoid Costco and Sams club, I can find lots of rice, right?

[uppityperson]

Reading over and over about people stocking up at Costco and Sams club makes me wonder, how about your regular grocery store or food coop?

I was planning a trip to Costco soon, guess I'll just have to buy my rice the old fashioned way, at my local grocery store.

[LakeSamish706]

1. Yeah, but were talking about people buying pallets of rice from these...

stores. There is no shortage of rice we are told, just that people are attempting to buy it by the pallet and that surely is going to cause a supply and demand issue.

[samdogmom]

14. Who???? on a personal consumer level buys PALLETS of rice??????

What the heck? What is beneath this story?

[JoDog]

15. It's restaurants and small store owners

Sam's club and Costco are technically B2B places where business owners buy the stuff they need for their business or get stuff to resell. Considering the recent jump in the price of rice, I wouldn't be surprised if smaller businesses are stockpiling it now, betting that the price will continue to go up. They would buy it by the pallet. 10 or 15 people hit the store with the same idea, and BAM--shortage until the next delivery.

A few days ago, a 20-lb bag of white rice sold for $8 at Jewel in the Chicago area.

[Bluestar]

2. The rice I buy is grown in California

And the head of the California rice board said yesterday, "We have no shortage". Could it be that the big box stores only purchase rice from the far East where there are big shortages? Buy your rice at the health food store.

[AlCzervik]

7. i just 2 of my bags of rice---woodland california! yay, local products.

[AlCzervik]

3. There was plenty of rice at the supermarket i shop at yesterday, long grain, Basmati

minute rice, brown rice, i feel like i'm channeling Bubba from Forest Gump.

[uppityperson]

5. fried rice, rice with shrimp... I see it as media hysteria.

My local grocery store ran out of my favorite type of bread a couple days ago! OMG! I had to go back the next day!

Media hysteria sells air time which sells ad space.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. Yeah, but in the small bags.

[1monster]

13. I like the small bags. A one-pound bag is just the right size for my own version

of aroz de espania...

[kestrel91316]

6. Costco and Sam's haven't run out. They just put a limit of 4 giant bags

a day. Some fo the Asian restaurants have hedged their bets by stockpiling large amounts, and the stores want to AVOID running low because of panicked doofuses.

I think I'll walk over to the Middle Eastern grocery at lunch today and see what their situation. They usually have piles and piles of 10 lb bags of basmati.

FYI, folks: the US is a major rice exporter. And we are still exporting, AFAIK.

On edit: OK, here is the official Woodland Hills Market (local ME market) report brought to you by kestrel. They have lots and lots of their 10 lb bags of imported basmati, as always. The prices are noticeably higher than the last time I bought any there. However, most of them were on a 2-for-1 special, lol. And there was no evidence of panicked Persian ladies buying up every last grain of it.

So there you have it.

[uppityperson]

10. By the TV said I should know about rationing!!!!111

Yes, USA is still exporting rice. Media is selling air time/ad space for OMG! news.

Huh, maybe I should start a news station:
OMGNews! OMG all day, 24 hour OMG coverage! You want it? You got it! OMG OMG OM GOM G+OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOGMOGMO

[brooklynite]

8. I outsource to India...

...and buy Basmati rice from my local ethnic food store.

[Donnachaidh]

9. restaurant owners shop at Costco and Sam's Club

I've seen the owners of our favorite chinese food restaurant at Costco. If I were them, and kept Fox News on (as so many of them do) I'd be out there trying to buy up all that I could. Media hysteria -- that's what they get for turning on Rupert's FairyTale Network. :shrug:

We buy our rice at the local Harry's, an organic supermarket. NO problems with that store. All kinds of varieties to choose from.

[orleans]

11. my guess is this is just media hysteria/hype

mountains out of molehills

uh-oh. rice shortage? better vote republican!

this thing is pissing me off (not your post--the media coverage)

freaks buying pallets of rice! give me a break. and of course sams club/walmart is all for media hype like this.

[uppityperson]

12. Me too. Media hype and it is pissing me off because it is scaring people to vote repub.

When slightly informed people think they are well informed and get scared, they vote repub because that's the evil they know and change is scary. It pisses me off.

[depakid]

16. The local Asian market has plenty of rice on hand

Choose your size.

I generally get the smaller 5 pound bags for a little over 5 bucks (that's up almost dollar from last year).