'There's plenty of rice in America'

Word of shortage caused people to panic, grocer says

By Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, May 9, 2008

Dennis Schroeder / The Rocky

Mezcal chef Sean Yontz prepares rice at the East Colfax eatery. He says high-end restaurants can pass along increased costs to customers, but he can't do that with burritos.

It's not so much about the perceived shortage of rice in America as it's about the real rising cost of it that has local restaurateurs wringing their hands.

"It's affecting us in price only," said Johnny Hsu, owner of The Imperial and The Palace restaurants in Denver. "It's a scare. It's not that it's a shortage. There's plenty of rice in America."

Yasu Kizaki, co-founder and marketer for Denver's Sushi Den, believes that the latest crisis is overblown and isn't going to impact his restaurant's needs. "We have a source; prices went up a little bit. Even if I'm worried, what can I do? Am I going to stock up? That creates more shortage."

Rice plentiful in U.S.

Rice is the latest foodstuff to gain attention as world markets reacted to the news of shortages in some of the largest rice-consuming nations such as China.

There is no reason for Americans to worry about rice supplies, said David Coia of the USA Rice Federation. Growers in the United States supply 88 percent of the rice eaten in America, with only 12 percent coming from foreign sources. The U.S. is also the fourth-largest exporter of rice.

"I would just say that the United States has enough rice for consumer demand here and its traditional customers abroad," Coia said.

Nevertheless, when people started hearing the word shortage, there was some ripple effect, especially when the news was reported that some of the warehouse stores were limiting how many bags of rice someone could buy.

"Any time you end up having anything published like that, people just panic," said Frank Romero of King Soopers. "It's like a snowstorm: When the weather is talked about all week, people will run to get their milk and their bread. Then it either settles down or it creates a larger situation. From an inventory standpoint, we're not concerned. As of this moment, there's plenty of rice."

Usually shortages - or talk of shortages - drive the prices up, but in this case, the economic factors are more complicated. So far, consumers aren't seeing price increases at the grocery stores, according to King Soopers and Whole Foods.

Restaurants feel the pain

But the restaurants are certainly taking it in the wallet. Sean Yontz of Mezcal and Tambien has seen the price of staples skyrocket in the past month, which is critical in Mexican restaurants that serve moderately priced fare.

That has to do with other economic factors this year, such as farmers who are giving more acreage to crops for biofuels and the high cost of shipping.

"Here's what I see," Yontz said. "Every year prices are going up, and now we're seeing surcharges on gas, and we're seeing that (passed along) on our invoices for food. Every year, I keep seeing produce and fish prices going up, now rice and flour; everything keeps going up."

At high-end restaurants, the costs are added onto the menu item, but "you can't do that with rice." And there's only so much diners are willing to pay for a burrito.

"You can go into any Mexican restaurant and get a burrito for $8, so unless every restaurant raises their prices for rice and beans, it affects our bottom line. . . . We don't have the luxury to charge $32 for an entree."

Stopher Wong of Denver's Banzai restaurant said he agrees with Yontz.

"You can't pass along the cost of rice in a sushi roll."

Like Yontz, he said it's not the price of rice that's as important to his bottom line as the rise in other costs, such as fish.

"Rice is about $28 for 50 pounds; we've been told it will go up to $30 to $32. Percentagewise, it's a lot, but the cost of rice is cheap compared to other things. When fish goes up 25 percent, that has an impact."

Wong has to absorb much of the increase, which is particularly difficult at a time when people are spending less.

Diners careful about cost

"We're as busy as ever," he said, "but people are scrutinizing the menu more carefully. Instead of ordering the $10 (sushi) roll, they'll order the $8 one."

Wong said he thinks people will relax their restaurant spending habits more after the upcoming election.

"I'm fairly new to the restaurant business, but I can tell you that every election, it's been the same. (During the elections), everyone brings up the negative thing, and it drums up a lot of insecurity. It's more insecurity than reality."

Yontz is more cautious about making predictions.

"Who can say what will happen? It could all turn around and go back to the same price in three to six months. If prices continue to go up, restaurants will raise their prices. They'd have to just to make it."

But Kizaki of Sushi Den has a different take: He's looking at each of the polished grains in a new light.

"It's a good opportunity to become more appreciative and take advantage of what's there - to think about our resources, to be more conscious about what we're given. It's not endless. That's how I like to see this situation."

• May 10, 2008

  11:21 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  SASQUATCH writes:

  There's also plenty of crude oil, coal, nuke and NG, corn and wheat too--near endless supplies. So when do we Americans chose to stop hammering ourselves on our own heads and vote for politicos who are on our side and jetison those who are against us? American's are getting exactly what we voted for. This insanity has been going on for decades; "the chickens have come home to roost."

• May 11, 2008

  2:35 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  greenleaf writes:

  Squatch,

  So now your "window teat" is revealing roosting chickens? I do agree: your insanity probably has been going on for decades! You couldn't have gotten this way overnight!

• May 12, 2008

  9:27 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Gene writes:

  Guys,
  Although I have a hard time believing in it, BBC has story, "Great Tits Cope Well with Global Warming."
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/na...