"April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Sam's Club warehouse unit is restricting purchases of some types of rice to four bags a visit as prices reached a record in Chicago futures trading.
The higher commodities prices are also pushing up U.S. food prices and spurring inflation. The consumer price index climbed 0.3 percent in March, after no change in the prior month, the Labor Department said April 16. Inflation, combined with falling home values and mounting job losses, is leading to cutbacks in consumer spending that may push the economy into a recession.
Limits on rice purchases will be felt the most in California and Texas, which have large Asian and Mexican populations, whose diets include rice, Degen said."
