Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press

Parimala Lawrence turns away from the bags of rice at Spiceland after close examination. The cost of rice has risen dramatically in recent weeks.

Purchase this photo

It’s the most widely consumed grain in the world.

So when the price or supply of rice fluctuates, the ripples spread far and wide.

“The price is up and the whole world is feeling it now,” said Bal Singh, a St. Joseph businessman.

Rice prices have soared 70 percent so far this year, driven in part by speculation and increasing demand. Peoples around the world have been protesting and many are desperate to buy food.

In Mr. Singh’s native India, rice is eaten at every meal in the southern part of the country. In northern India where Mr. Singh’s family lives, the diet staple is wheat, which is also becoming very expensive.

“I feel it because I talk to my mom and brother and they say it is getting ridiculous,” he said.

They think they have enough money to buy flour, but when they get to the market, the price has increased so much they can’t afford it, Mr. Singh said.

“The commodities are becoming scarce,” he said. “These suppliers are hoarding rice and wheat because they think the price is going up.”

The effects are felt much closer to home, too.

“Rice used to be fairly cheap,” said Jason Chen, co-owner of Hunan’s Restaurant in St. Joseph.

The restaurant uses more than 50 pounds of rice per day and prices have gone up 50 to 60 percent, he said.

Rice has received attention lately, but Mr. Chen said all food has been affected over the last several months.

“Everything has gone up a little bit because of gas,” he said. “It’s a quarter here, a quarter there.”

Mr. Singh’s wife Nina operates Spiceland, an Indian food store at 2335 N. Belt. Prices for a 20-pound bag of rice have gone from $11 to more than $20. The store’s rice is purchased from India through a U.S. supplier. Mr. Singh said the store can’t even get shipments of wheat right now.

Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, started a policy on April 23 limiting the amount of rice individual customers can purchase. The limits apply only to 20-pound bags of imported rice, with the limit of four per customer.

“These limits are designed to prevent large distributors or wholesalers from depleting our stock,” a Wal-Mart statement read. “We believe limiting rice purchases to four bags per visit is consistent with the needs of the majority of our members, including many restaurants.”

The global shortage is caused by rising demand in developing countries and poor crop yields, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. About 90 percent of the rice Americans eat is grown in the United States, the USA Rice Federation reports, but U.S. farmers export about 50 percent of their crop.

Higher prices have led more Missouri farmers to plant rice, said Kelly Nelson, a research agronomist with University of Missouri Extension. Rice is traditionally grown in the Bootheel, but farmers along the Mississippi River in northeast Missouri are planting it this year.

“These niche markets have a nice incentive,” Mr. Nelson said.

Rice was grown in northern Missouri from 1930s to the 1970s, he said. Flooding the field is used to control weeds; the crop only requires about as much moisture as corn to grow.

A test plot of rice was planted at Hundley-Whaley Research Farm in Albany, Mo., when Ventria was considering growing genetically altered rice in the region.

“We’ve been very successful in growing rice in northern Missouri,” Mr. Nelson said. “Because we are isolated from commodity production, we have a unique niche that could be plugged into.”

Even though rice prices have increased, Mr. Nelson doesn’t expect a lot of local farmers to switch because corn and soybean prices are also high.

The situation reveals the need for farmers, Mr. Singh said.

“There’s 6 billion people to feed and there’s only so many farmers in the world,” he said.

Business editor Susan Mires can be reached

at susanm@npgco.com.