Cost of rice surges globally as India bans it's export

The price of rice has surged globally, it is the highest that the world has seen in over 12 years. India’s ban on the export of non-basmati rice has led to the skyrocketing prices.

 
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the rice price index increased by 2.8 percent in July compared to the previous month, reaching its highest level in almost 12 years. This increase is a result of elevated demand in major rice-importing nations and India's measures to limit rice exports.
During the period of 2022-23 (April to March), India prohibited the export of non-basmati white rice, which constituted of 9.94 million tonnes out of the 22.35 million tonnes of rice that were shipped from the country. India, being responsible for 40 percent of global rice exports, imposed the ban on July 20 in an attempt to stabilize domestic prices, which had surged to multi-year highs due to uncertain weather conditions causing threats to rice production.

Reports reveal that the ban has created panic amongst several countries, including the US, Canada, and Australia who import rice. Many overseas Indians rushed to grocery stores and retail chains to purchase and hoard their staple food items.

 
Aa reported by The Mint states that in a letter to the Indian government, the Rice Exporters Association appealed for the allowance of exporting 1 million metric tons of a premium non-basmati rice variety highly favored by overseas Indians. It is also to be noted that Sonamasuri rice is primarily consumed by South Indians living abroad.

 
Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan were significant rice exporters in 2022-23. However, these countries combined cannot compensate for India's ban on exports of over 9.9 million tonnes.