I don’t think anyone expected this:
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.”
Mostly this sounds like restaurants stockpiling:
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.
Another issue might be the declining value of the US dollar in relation to other currencies. I don’t know much about the rice market but it seems that as the Dollar declines in value a US rice producer would make more money by exporting his product and foreign rice growers get more money by selling to other countries. Currency devaluation is probably a factor in high oil prices as well. Maybe presidential candidates should start talking about how to get the Dollars value higher in relation to other currencies, instead of promising to open the strategic petroleum reserve or offering a gas tax holiday.
another factor is the use of food to produce ethanol, American farmpolicy is a dissaster.
I think the standard line of bullshit from our government for the past 15 years has been…”we believe in a strong dollar policy”…it would be said just like that forever if certain pieces fell into place. Whether it goes up or down, there will be people out there who don’t like it’s value at the time for some reason…apparently it’s something that is complicated enough for the press and public to feel happy about the Sesame Street song that gets played at press conferences when it’s brought up. We believe in a strong dollar policy.
I need to dig up what I was working on before about the ethanol law. Saxby Chambliss is a senator from Georgia…the one who defeated an incumbent Vietnam veteran in a wheelchair by questioning his patriotism…there should be a lot out there about the creation of the bill, cross referencing his name. I’ll get some links.
A low value dollar contributes to exports and slows down US consumption. Part of me wonders if a low value dollar policy isn’t the republican way of getting US consumption of goods and services in line with the rest of the world.