Indias ban on the export of non-basmati rice starts to bite Importer says its supply will run out in three days
Supermarkets, restaurants, shops and wholesalers have been left reeling by India's decision to halt exports of non-basmati rice.
The ban, which also covers products made from rice such as flour, was announced with immediate effect on Tuesday by the government in Delhi.
The government said it took the decision to bring down the price in India by increasing the supply in the country.
Importers and Indian associations in the UAE are planning to press the government for a reversal of the ban.
"Indian non-basmati rice products are fast-moving items in all 64 Lulu supermarkets, hypermarkets and department stores in the GCC," said Nanda Kumar, group communications manager of Emke Group, which operates several of the shops in the UAE.
"The majority of our Indian customers regularly eat nonbasmati rice and related products. All of a sudden this major staple food is disappearing from the shelves.
"The suppliers cannot import these products any more. It was an unexpected move and our stocks will finish in a day or two. Basmati rice is an expensive option and consumers will have to rely on Egyptian or Sri Lankan rice." Binu Dasan, general manager of Jaleel Trading, a major distributor of rice products in the UAE, said: "We cannot bring in new supplies and some containers have been sent back to India from the port.
"We import 10 containers to the UAE every month and the products are fast-moving items. Now we cannot meet our commitments to supply supermarkets such as Lulu and Carrefour, restaurants, shops and labour accommodations. Our stocks will end within three days.
"Red rice is a product specific to Kerala and there is no alternative. Sri Lanka produces rice but cannot supply enough quantity to meet the UAE demand.
"About 100 employees work in our rice sections.
"We are not in a position to increase prices because of the UAE's consumer protection policy." However some traders have started to increase their prices.
"There are about 5,000 grocers and an equal number of Indian restaurants selling meals that include rice," added Dasan.
"They will face a difficult situation and we are trying to bring all the traders and Indian community associations together to press the Indian Government to allow some quota of rice for export." A spokesman for Arab India Spices, a major importer of non-basmati rice, said: "We plan to increase the price of Thai, Pakistani and Sri Lankan rice." Indian rice is a staple food for expatriates especially south Indians in the UAE.
South Indians eat rice two or three times a day on average and the majority of them eat dosa, idli and other delicacies made from rice flour.
They also use semi-brown rice, commonly known as motta rice.
'Crazy' decision hits staple diet
I cannot think of living without rice and dosa, said Indian housewife Maya Shankar, who lives in Sharjah. We eat it for both lunch and dinner. If there is no rice, I cannot make dosa, idli, appam or puttu for breakfast.
This is a crazy decision and the Indian Government is worried only about Indians in the country. What about the millions of NonResident Indians who eat the same food? Are we not Indians? The export ban was announced by Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram. It came after severe floods in the past two months affected the harvest in the eastern states of West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Assam.
Kerala has urged the central government to lift the ban.
Prices around the world are expected to rise by 10 per cent.
India is one of the biggest rice exporters in the world, shipping about 300,000 tonnes of nonbasmati and 100,000 tonnes of basmati each month.
By VM Sathish
Emirates Today 2007
