India cuts rice exports, triggering panic-buying of food staple by some Indian expats in the US
By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Hoping to stave off inflationary pressures on a diet staple, the Indian government is banning exports of non-Basmati white rice varieties. It’s triggering worry among the Indian diaspora in the United States that access to a food staple from home might soon be cut off. Some rushed to supermarkets to stock up, stacking carts with bags and bags of rice. In some places, lines formed outside some stores as panic buying ensued. An earlier than expected El Niño brought drier, warmer weather in some parts of Asia and is expected to harm rice production. But in some parts of India, where the monsoon season was especially brutal, flooding destroyed some crops, adding to production woes and rising prices.
