Consumers in the United States are hoarding rice imported from India following a ban on the export of non-basmati white rice by that country.
Daily O reports India’s Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry made the decision in an effort to stabilize prices following rains that harmed the production of the popular stable.
Monsoon rains in the north coupled with less-than-seasonal rains in other parts of the country are to blame, reported The Hindu.
According to Money Control, India is responsible for 40 percent of all world rice exports. A cut in production could trigger higher food prices in the U.S.
Officials in India say the retail price of rice from India spiked 11.5 percent over the last 12 months while demand jumped 35 percent in the second quarter over the previous year.
Demand for Indian rice in the U.S. has been so high, one store in Mason Town in Ohio began rationing sales to one 20-pound bag of white rice per person at $24.
One buyer in Texas said he bought a 20-pound bag for $34.
Another buyer in Texas said the line to get into the store was more than 30 minutes.
“By the time we entered, Sona Mahsuri was sold out and we purchased Ponni-boiled variety,” she said to Times of India.
One person in Detroit compared the situation to what America saw during the pandemic.
“With that precedent, people are rushing to stash rice in advance,” she said.
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