Retailers in Chiang Mai are racing to stock up before it costs even more.

Not only is the price of rice rising, it is even becoming difficult to find in some places. But don't blame the hoarders; sometimes it's just the result of poor shelf management.

According to a survey yesterday of major retail outlets on Bangna-Trat Road, over half the rice shelves at Big C Supercen-tre were empty. Many brands such as Kaset, Suphannahong, Pinngern and Kasikornthai have entirely disappeared.

Officials at the outlets, however, say the number of rice buyers remains unchanged and their purchases are not unusual.

An official at Big C said lots of bagged rice was in storage, waiting to be stacked.

At Tops Supermarket, the Buatip brand was off the shelves.

But like the man at Big C, an official at Tops also volunteered to go to the storage facility and fetch the missing brands. "The price, however, keeps changing every day," he said.

An official at Tesco Lotus, however, said that the storage area there was empty. All the rice was sold out, including the house brand. He did not know when new supplies would arrive.

There have been reports that buyers are stocking up on rice for fear of further price hikes, following Commerce Ministry's expectation that the jasmine rice export price could hit US$1,000 per tonne or approximately Bt30,000 per tonne.

The announcement sent a wave of panic through consumers, now that jasmine rice costs only Bt15,000 per tonne.

If the price rises as much as expected, Thai consumers will have to pay double for the rice at a time when they are shouldering an overall higher cost of living.

By Chankit Trakoolwilai

Daily Xpress