Rice Price Reaches Cambodian-Americans
By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
06 May 2008
Rice prices on the world market have jumped 50 percent in the past
three months and doubled since 2004. The high prices are hitting many
families in Asia, but they have also reached Cambodian families in the
US.
=93Rice rose to a record $40 per 50 pounds in California, double the
price a month ago,=94 said Bunna Seng, a grocery store owner in Long
Beach.
Some countries in Asia have experienced rice shortages, and Cambodia
has been forced to curb its exports. In more affluent countries, like
the US, there is not a shortage, but families still feel the crunch.
Some of them have begun stockpiling.
=93The rapid price increase we have recently suffered is from record oil
prices,=94 said Vanna, a Connecticut grocer. =93Cambodian people bought
between five and 10 50-pound sacks of rice to store in their house.=94
Meanwhile, the actions of both consumers and rice sellers is affecting
the cost.
=93Hoarding by wholesalers and panic buying by consumers are factors of
the soaring rice price,=94 said Marith Chhang, a consumer in the state
of Washington.
The state of California is a huge rice producer in the US, but even
here, the same factors affecting farmers in Asia are at work.
=93There are many factors for the rise, including rising fuel and
fertilizer costs, as well as climate change,=94 California farmer Thong
Kim said.
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