Panic buying in US after India places ban on rice exports

New Delhi, July 22

The ban on overseas sale of rice by the world’s biggest exporter India has led to panic buying from store shelves in the US and consternation in South East Asia and Africa.

Already grappling with a succession of shocks such as the pandemic, the Ukraine conflict and the impact of the El Nino, the world rice trade was shaken earlier this week when India banned the export of non-basmati white rice, which constitutes 25 per cent of its exports.

The pressure on rice, an emergency substitute for wheat, has increased after Russia cancelled the Black Sea grain deal that ensured Ukrainian exports of the grain. While traders elsewhere in the world were fretting, an immediate impact of the ban announcement was long lines at stores all over the US as people rushed to stock up on rice. Visuals showed rice bags being grabbed from the shelves by crowds of Asian customers for whom rice is a staple.

“Thai rice traders are closely monitoring the situation. We need to reassess the situation to see whether India would ease its ban,” Thai Rice Exporters Association president Chookiat Ophaswongse said in a statement.