500,000 Tons of Indian Rice Postponed During Global Price Surge

by Mindy Cohn

In July, India, which accounts for 40% of world rice exports, ceased exports of its non-basmati white rice, causing a global price surge to the staple food of billions of people worldwide; to add to the stress, India's newly imposed 20% duty on exports of parboiled rice has caused the shipments of 500,000 metric tons to be delayed until after mid-October to avoid the tax, according to  Reuters.

According to the United Nations, more than half of the world's population uses rice daily, which is why India's ban in July on exports of non-basmati rice caused a run on the rice in New York and beyond, with rice prices at their highest levels since September 2011.

The USA Rice Federation says consumers can rest easy. There is enough U.S. rice to go around, saying that with seven states in the U.S. growing rice, they have plenty of American rice to meet demand.

Expectations are that supplies will improve once harvesting of the summer crop starts in October, which is expected to bring down prices eventually.