India has banned the export of non-basmati rice, threatening supplies of the essential foodstuff throughout the world.
The country is the world’s largest supplier of rice, accounting for 40% of the global supply. Export sales of rice add almost $11 billion annually to India’s GDP.
The office of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the export ban July 20, stating: “Domestic prices of rice are on an increasing trend. Retail prices have increased by 11.5% over a year and 3% over the past month.”
“In order to ensure adequate availability of non-basmati white rice in the Indian market and to allay the rise in prices in the domestic market, the government of India has amended the export policy,” said the administration in a press statement. India last year had slapped a 20% tariff on exports of non-basmati rice in order to stabilize prices, but demand and pricing have risen nonetheless.
Heat and Dust
“This sharp increase in exports can be ascribed to high international prices due to geo-political scenario, El Nino sentiments and extreme climatic conditions in other rice producing countries,” stated the government in its announcement.
The export ban from India came three days after Russia announced that it had pulled out of a critical deal that would have allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Ukraine is the 5th largest supplier of wheat to the world.
In a June 5 report, the World Bank noted that a global food crisis has been made worse by the growing number of export bans: currently 20 countries are implementing 27 food export restrictions.
‘We South Indians Need Our Rice’
In the US, many consumers and restaurants are panic buying, stocking up and hoarding supplies of Indian rice. The long-grain, deeply aromatic and expensive basmati rice, which has not been banned for export, is normally reserved for special occasions and is not considered an everyday use rice.
South Indians prefer ponni and sona masoori rice, varieties that are used to make the idlis, dosas, and other rice-based dishes that form the bulk of a South Indian daily diet. Rice is eaten in some form at almost every meal in a South Indian household.
“North Indians eat their chapattis and can be happy, but we South Indians need our rice,” said San Francisco East Bay foodie Vijayalakshmi Sundaram. She prefers sona masoori brown hand pounded rice, a tad pricier, but worth it for Sundaram, who says the taste cannot be matched.
Basmati In Short Supply
Several shops in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of New York — home to a large population of South Asian Americans — told Ethnic Media Services they had no rice available, not even basmati rice.
Rumi Bhuiyan, manager of Mach Bazar in Jackson Heights, told EMS that customers were buying up whatever they could find, unaware that there was no ban on basmati. The frenzy has since subsided, but he is almost out of stock of all rice, including basmati.
Bhuiyan is encouraging his South Indian customers to try Delta Star parboiled rice, an American brand which — he says — has a very similar taste to its Indian counterpart.
In Fremont, California — home to one of the largest concentrations of Indian Americans — microbiologist/mycologist Dr. Tara Dubey said she went to several Indian grocery stores and found only basmati rice and brown rice, neither of which she uses regularly. Dubey prefers the jasmine and sona masoori varieties, both of which have been impacted by the ban.
Sales Spike
“We are very worried. Rice is a main food for children and seniors,” said Dubey. On a recent trip to Reno, Nevada, she and her husband chanced upon an American brand of jasmine rice at Walmart, which they decided to try. “We can manage with whatever rice is available, but the taste is very different, and it must be cooked differently,” said Dubey.
Hira Birla, owner of Bharat Bazar, which has four locations in San Francisco’s East and South Bay Area, told EMS: “This is not the first time we have faced export restrictions.” Last year, the Indian government banned exports of wheat — known as atta — and products made from wheat, such as semolina.
Birla has seen a huge spike in sales of rice. “People are trying to buy two and three bags at a time. We have had to limit them to one bag per customer,” he said.
Indians usually buy 20 and 40 lb bags of rice, but have had to settle for smaller 10 lb bags, as supplies dwindle.
Raised Prices
“There’s no telling when the export ban will be lifted,” said Birla, adding that he doesn’t expect additional supplies to come through anytime soon. Birla said he did raise prices on his rice, noting that wholesalers have been raising their prices. “We have been trying to do it within reason, keeping it as low as we can,” he said.
Despite the shortage for his stores, Birla says he nonetheless supports the export ban. “India can sell rice in the US for 10 times the price it can sell it at home, but food must go to the people who need it the most.”
Deepak Ajmani, owner of the grocery store Bombay Spice House in Berkeley, California, is advising his customers not to hoard rice, noting that weevils and worms can hatch in the grains, if it is stored for a long time.
Economic Hit
Ajmani is limiting rice to one bag per family. “I am fearing an economic hit to my store. When prices are high, people’s purchasing power drops,” he said.
Mumbai Chowk in Newark, California — known for its authentic replication of Bombay street food — serves only basmati rice to its clientele. But owner and chef Abdul-Aziz Mamunji says the export ban has nevertheless impacted his restaurant.
Demand is high for Indian basmati rice, now that other rice has been banned from export. “Our wholesale supplier has put a limit of just one 40 lb bag of rice. I was able to get three bags, but that is only sufficient for one week, maybe 10 days,” he said. Wholesale suppliers have ordered shipping containers of basmati rice, but it is unclear when supplies will be replenished, Mamunji added.
Asked if he could substitute American basmati, Mamunji expressed a note of shock. “Indian basmati is the best. You can absolutely taste the difference between Indian basmati and American basmati. If worse comes to worse, we will have to serve American basmati, but our customers will complain,” he said.
Mamunji does not agree with the ban. “India needs to open up the market. This is affecting the entire world.”
