Kochi: People queued up before shops to buy rice as shortage of rice sent a panic wave in the US after India imposed a ban on export of non-basmati white rice, media reports said.
People were buying rice in large quantities to stock up the grain to counter its shortage in the coming days, the reports said.
India imposed the ban, barring parboiled rice, on July 20 to stabilise the prices as rice production was impacted mainly due to weather conditions.
The move was part of the government strategy to prevent price rise in the country. People of Asian communities thronged the stores to fill their stocks. There were reports of shops imposing rationing of nine kg. There were shops that sold rice at a premium price, the reports said.
US prices of rice have risen by around 11 percent. A few years back India had restricted export of wheat flour. The rice ban is expected to inflate the prices of food products globally. A major rice producer, China is also facing problems in
The Ukraine war had a significant impact on global food prices. The worldwide rice scarcity is likely to ease by 2024. China, India, Thailand and Vietnam are the major producers and suppliers of rice across the globe.
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Rice shortage hits US
