Housewives Forced to Scrounge for Rice, flour

HOUSEWIVES this week continued to be faced with what seems to be an on-going rice and wheat flour shortage.

A limited supply of bread and cakes was available for the season, and most housewives failed to secure any rice or flour at the controlled price around city supermarkets. Most city restaurants were yesterday without usual stocks of pastries.

Blackmarketeers have been selling flour for as much as $15 per pound and the bread vendors have increased the price of two small bread to $30.

Even chowmein and other wheat flour products prices have been vastly increased and panic-stricken housewives scramble to get what they could at several dollars beyond the normal cost. A packet of chowmein which was previously $5 now costs $10.

No rice could be obtained in the city markets and many of the rice stalls are presently standing empty. The vendors are also complaining that there is much difficulty when trying to obtain the commodities to sell.

During the last weekend, some rice vendors were selling rice at $20 - $25 per gallon. Until now there has been no word as to when the shortage will be alleviated.

Housewives and other consumers are beginning to wonder how long they would have to contend with these shortages. It is also being claimed that the flour being sold by blackmarketeers contains “foreign matter.”