"Crazy Scenario" Appears in the United States, India Announces Post Market | India | United States
According to the Associated Press on July 29th, last week, a topic erupted in Praba Rao's WhatsApp group. At that time, India announced a significant reduction in certain rice exports to other parts of the world, causing concerns among Indian expatriates in the United States that the channels to obtain this staple food from their home country may soon be cut off.
According to reports, just like in any crisis scenario - think of bottled water and toilet paper - some people rush to supermarkets to stock up and fill shopping carts with bags of rice. In some places, as panic buying arrives, long queues form outside some stores.
However, Rao, who lives near Syracuse, New York, feels at ease because the owner of the Indian goods store she frequently frequents sent an email to customers, informing them that there is no need to worry: there is sufficient rice supply. At least currently, there is sufficient supply.
According to reports, an earlier than expected El Ni ñ o phenomenon has brought drier and warmer weather to some parts of Asia than normal, and is expected to endanger rice production. But in some regions of India, the rainy season is particularly ruthless, with floods destroying some crops, exacerbating production difficulties and price increases.
The Indian government hopes to avoid inflationary pressures on rice, a staple food, and earlier this month imposed an export ban on various types of white rice other than Indian fragrant rice, leading to stockpiling of rice in some regions around the world.
The Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced on July 20th that this move is aimed at "ensuring sufficient availability" and "alleviating the rise in domestic market rice prices.". The Indian government says that rice prices have risen by over 11% in the past year and 3% in the past month.
On July 21st, in Ahmedabad, India, farmers were working in rice paddies. Xinhua News Agency/Reuters
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According to reports, various types of white rice, excluding fragrant rice from India, account for about 1/4 of India's exported rice.
Rao said, "On WhatsApp, I received a lot of messages claiming that I won't be able to buy rice anymore. I think there was a lot of confusion at the beginning because, as you know, rice is very important to us."
According to reports, there are currently many different varieties of rice, and people's preferences depend on the taste and texture of the rice. The export ban in India does not apply to Indian fragrant rice, which is a more fragrant variety of long grain rice.
The "Indian Market" grocery store chain in the Dallas Fort Worth region, which sells Indian groceries, tells customers not to panic on its Facebook page. The company's post says, "We are working hard to meet the needs of all shoppers."
The KXAS television station in Dallas, a subsidiary of the National Broadcasting Corporation, reported that customers cleared shelves and lined up in long lines to stock up on bagged rice.
"Anand Pabari, President of the" Indian Market "grocery chain, told KXAS TV," They really want to purchase 10 bags, 12 bags, or even 15 bags. This is a very crazy scenario. "