Dublin: Due to the ban imposed by the Indian government on the export of non-basmati rice, the rice shortage has worsened in various countries. The ban has caused widespread concern among Indians in North America, Europe, and West Asia. The threat of shortages and the fear of rising prices are behind this rush. On July 20, India amended the export norms by including non-basmati rice in the prohibited category.
The South Indian diaspora community in foreign countries rushes to buy rice. Queues have formed in Indian shops across the world, including the United States. The Economic Times reported that expatriates in the US are bringing bags of rice home after their vacations due to the fear of a shortage.
Indian grocery stores in major cities such as Texas, Michigan, and New Jersey are seeing a surge in traffic. Following this, rationing was introduced in the supply of rice. The restrictions were that a customer could get only one bag of rice.
Benin, a West African country, is one of the major importers of non-basmati rice from India. Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Senegal, Guinea, Vietnam, Djibouti, Madagascar, Cameroon, Somalia, Malaysia, Liberia, and the UAE are also importers of Indian rice.
At the same time, Basil Kuriakos, a wholesale distributor for leading distributor Daily Delight, said that there is no such problem in European countries, including Ireland. He also explains that the current rumours are caused by a fear of a shortage and an increase in price. He said that there is still enough Matta rice in stock and there is no need to worry. He stated that the order will primarily affect rice categories such as idli rice, pachari, sonamasuri, and jeera rice, but there is no need to worry because parboiled rice such as Matta rice is exempt from this ban.
But the signs of a price hike are very strong. Basmati rice, which was selling for €1.19, was raised by Tesco yesterday to €1.50.
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