Here’s why you’ve been paying more for rice at the grocery store

A series of export restrictions from India, which accounts for 40 per cent of the world's rice exports, has led to the rising price of the staple food in Canada.

If you think you are paying more for rice than you used to at your grocery store, you are not alone.

Food wholesaler Sel Vaheesan, owner of Scarborough, Ont.-based CeyCan Agro Ltd., said his clients are feeling the pinch.

“My clients are mostly small grocery stores in the Greater Toronto Area. I can tell you that the market for rice is very slow right now,” he told Global News.

A series of export restrictions from India, which accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s rice exports, has led to the rising price of the staple foodgrain in Canada. Three days after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal in July, the Indian government announced that it would be stopping all exports of non-Basmati white rice with immediate effect.

In a statement at the time, the country’s ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution cited the need to “ensure adequate availability of Non-Basmati White Rice in the Indian market and to allay the rise in prices in the domestic market.”

This decision comes as Indians have been struggling with high food prices. In September of last year, the government imposed a 20 per cent export duty on rice to lower the price in the domestic market. Despite this, the retail prices of rice have been rising in India. According to the government, the retail price has increased 11.5 per cent in the last year and 3.0 per cent over the last month.

“The prohibition on export of Non-Basmati White Rice will lead to lowering of prices for the consumers in the country,” the ministry said.

In August this year, the Indian government imposed an additional 20 per cent export duty on par-boiled non-basmati rice. Vaheesan said this has hurt consumers and retailers in Canada.