Limiting Purchases of Rice at Sam’s Club

AP reports:

The two biggest U.S. warehouse retail chains are limiting how much rice customers can buy because of what Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., called on Wednesday “recent supply and demand trends.” The broader chain of Wal-Mart stores has no plans to limit food purchases, however. The move comes as U.S. rice futures hit a record high amid global food inflation, although one rice expert said the warehouse chains may be reacting less to any shortages than to stockpiling by restaurants and small stores … USA Rice Federation spokesman David Coia said there is no rice shortage in the United States. “It’s possible that small restaurants and bodega-type neighborhood stores may be purchasing rice in larger quantities than they do typically to avoid higher prices,” Coia said about the warehouse chain restrictions … At Bangkok Center Grocery, one of the main suppliers of Thai food products in New York City, manager Tom Pongsopon said the price of a 25-pound bag of Jasmine rice at his Chinatown store has gone up from $15 to $20 in a matter of months.

I don’t get what Sam’s Club is doing. Why don’t they just raise the price to their customers now?