Major Wild Rice Buyer May Opt Out This Year

Major Wild Rice Buyer May Opt Out This Year

Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 12:47

A wild rice buyer from La Ronge says, for the first time in over 25 years, he may not be buying this fall.

Lynn Riese of Riese’s Canadian Lakes Wild Rice says the demand for the product has dropped.

He says other buyers are offering between $0.50 and $0.70 per pound, but he can’t make a go of it with prices that low.

Riese says he will make a final decision in about 10 days — but in the meantime, he won’t be buying any rice from producers.

He estimates he bought half of the north’s wild rice in 2008.