Our country is anticipating rice shortage during the gap months before the harvest season and this will drive rice prices though the roof if the government does not act fast and accelerate the importation process. I've been thinking of buying two extra sacks which should be good for two to three months consumption. This can potentially save us a lot of money and cushion us from the impact of the expected price hikes. Do you think it is a smart practice to hoard products like rice to prepare for the expected shortage? I imagine that it might drive prices up prematurely if more people resort to hoarding.
I think in your case, it's acceptable to hoard rice because there will be a shortage, but in other scenarios like simply collecting stuff or even pet hoarding, when the space that you live in can't accomodate that stuff anymore or you have way more pets that you can handle, then I guess it's time to stop adding to your "collection".
I don’t know if it can be considered hoarding but we always stock up on food items that are not perishable like rice, sugar, flour, pasta, condiments, etc that includes canned goods. With rice, I understand that there is shortage once in a while and sometimes it is not announced, you will just be surprised that the price tag has markedly increased. Our rice supply is always at least ½ sack and sometimes it is more than 1 sack aside from the rice in the dispenser. We are trying to be always ready so when calamity strikes, we will have food. But hoarding for a shortage, of course, I would because we don’t know what can happen next.
I would think it would be a good idea to hoard on rice a bit if it is truly plummeting. If it is something you need and is low on stock then it is fine, as long as you plan on using all of it and have enough room.
It is not really a very good practice to hoard essential things, especially when it is done by traders and middlemen to create a false scarcity of things in the market. In India, almost every year, without fail, there comes a time when the price of onions touch the sky. Major supermarket retail giants, middlemen etc. buy up large quantities of onions and hoard them in warehouses creating shortage to escalate their prices. Right now, we are experiencing it with tomatoes. Last week, tomatoes cost Rs. 120 for a kilo. This week it is down to Rs. 80 but I am still not buying any!
Hoarding is considered in the negative light if you hoard unnecessary non emergency things like clothes. In fact, it can degenerate to a condition known as cluttering. Personally, I don't see anything wrong in buying up essential items like food or medical supplies in excess. If you have the right motive and proper storage that is not detrimental, then its OK. The only thing to watch out for however, it can form a habit where you now start buying everything in excess. There has to be a balance in what you hoard.
From your angle, I do not think it is wrong, and this is why. Long ago, Pharaoh, an ancient Egyptian king, had a dream. He dreamt that as he was standing by the River Nile, he saw 7 huge fat cows come out of the river and began to eat grass. Then seven other cows came up; these were thin. They came and stood by the other cows on the river bank, and the thin cows ate the fat cows. He also had a similar dream, but this time with ears of corn. When a young Hebrew, Joseph, was brought before the king to interpret the dream, He said that God had showed him that the dream meant that there would be seven years of plenty and seven years of scarcity. He then suggested that during the seven years of plenty they should store food to take care of the seven years of scarcity. (Genesis 41) The fact that this idea made Joseph a governor in a foreign land, I believe that it's a brilliant idea. There's an old adage that says that prevention is better than cure. Hence if it is anticipated that there would be shortage, then it's good to store up now that it available. The problem would be if one was doing it for business purposes. If it's for personal use, I would consider that as taking caution. Furthermore, even ants store their food in summer in anticipation for winter. Thank you.
