Rice price hike fear: Scenes of panic at a Costco

India, which banned the export of non-basmati white rice, caused a rush in shops selling this product, due to fears of rising prices after this announcement.

• Read also: India bans export of white rice

Many videos and photos shared on social networks show Americans queuing in several businesses, and even a rush in a Costco warehouse, to get several bags of rice.

A video posted by the @dallas_texastv account on TikTok shows people picking up dozens of bags of rice from a Costco in Dallas. Scenes that border on the panic seen in other states.

According to the Times of India, queues were also seen at several specialty grocery stores in Texas, Michigan, and New Jersey. Demand was so strong that traders had to limit the number of bags of rice per customer.

India has banned the export of non-basmati white rice to “guarantee” an “adequate” supply for Indian consumers and mitigate rising prices in the domestic market, India’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food said in a statement late Thursday.

In the second quarter, India’s non-basmati white rice exports jumped 35 percent year on year, the ministry said.

In September, after a major drought in its main rice-producing regions, India had already banned exports of broken rice (lower-priced rice, with grains broken accidentally or not) and imposed a 20% tax on exports of high-quality rice.

International prices for rice, a major staple in the world, have risen sharply due to the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon on rice paddy yields.

India’s non-basmati white rice exports account for about a quarter of India’s total rice exports. Last year, the country exported 10.3 million tonnes of non-basmati white rice.