India's export ban on non-basmati rice triggers panic buying at Sask. grocery stores
Store owners say their shelves are emptying of non-basmati rice, with no more supply in sight
The government of India has banned the export of non-basmati white rice, saying it will help keep prices down domestically and improve availability there. But in Saskatchewan, local South Asian grocery stores are already seeing panic buying.
"We had some 400 to 500 packets of non-basmati rice on Friday before the news broke out but people are getting crazy for non-basmati rice. We have very few left," said Arshpreet Singh, store manager at Savor Supermarket in Saskatoon.
"Many people from the Indian community are panicking and they came here, panicked for Sona Masoori rice, Poni raw rice. On Friday, many took five to ten packets."
Now, Singh said the store has decided to limit sales to two bags of rice per family.
India is the largest exporter of rice in the world, accounting for 40 per cent of the global rice trade. India made the move to curb the price rise of non-basmati white rice at home. Retail prices have reportedly increased by 11.5 per cent in the past year. Just in the past month, prices shot up three per cent after delayed but significant monsoon rains caused substantial damage to crops.
As per Statistics Canada, since January, Canada imported $45 million worth of long grain or basmati rice from India. But the ban is on small- and medium-grain or non-basmati rice, which accounted for almost $3 million in imports.
"All the non-basmati rice seem to be banned for six to eight months. We asked the suppliers when we would get the shipment — they said they don't have any idea," Singh said.
He urges customers not to stockpile and wants the Indian government to lift the ban soon.
At Swadesh Supermarket in Saskatoon, store owner and manager Jameel Ahmead just had one bag of five-kilogram non-basmati rice left on his shelves as of Monday evening.
"I had 50 bags on Saturday and within 30 minutes of opening the store, they all were gone. Sunday was a similar story," Ahmead said.
"Customers were panicking, filling up their carts with sacks of rice."
He said over the weekend, all 10-kilogram non-basmati rice bags were sold. Ahmead said he never saw anything like it.
Saskatoon resident Madhura Ghaskadvi also went looking. She could not find any non-basmati rice, so brought home two packets of basmati rice fearing its imports might also get impacted.
"Many of my friends and people I know in the community have been panicking about this news," she said. "I hope this improves sooner than later."
In Regina, panic buying was evident at Foodomix, which supplies Indian groceries. Sam Pat, the owner, said people have been grabbing multiple bags. Now, the store has limited it to one bag per family.
"In South Asian communities, rice is one of the staple diets. This might inflate the prices with increased demand," Pat said.
"The panic is right now as we don't know how long the ban will last. Vendors are not giving us any timelines. The panic is because there is no clear communication on how long it would take to have the proper flow in the market."
Shafeeq Meer, owner of the Biryani Box in Saskatoon, said inflation was already causing enough stress.
"Now, with this new move, the other people will start consuming basmati rice and we make biryani with basmati rice. It's going to affect our business a lot," he said.
"Ninety per cent of our business is with rice and we are thinking about what we should do. Should we raise prices? How will it impact our customers?" he said.
With uncertainty lingering around supply, Meer said he and other small business owners are concerned about the next steps.
"It's definitely going to take our sleep from nights."
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