ANN/THE PHNOM PENH POST – The price of white rice is skyrocketing after India halted shipments of non-basmati rice to address domestic food security challenges caused by climate change, rice exporters and millers in Cambodia said.
Since India issued the ban, importing nations that previously imported rice from India began purchasing more white rice from other nations, particularly Cambodia, causing the price of white rice to increase by more than 30 per cent, Amru Rice Chief Executive Officer (Cambodia) Song Saran said.
The Indian government declared on July 20 that it will cease exporting non-basmati white rice to cut local rice prices and promote food security.
As many other nations scrambled to stockpile their rice supplies, he said that climate change had significantly decreased rice harvests, forcing India to concentrate on local supply rather than export.
“We already know that India is one of the largest exporters of rice. When they announced a suspension of white rice, it pushed up the price of white rice to nearly the same as our fragrant rice.
“Of course, it has given our country the opportunity to export more while providing a good value for our farmers,” he said, adding that the price of white rice has risen between 30 and 40 per cent.
Signatures of Asia General Manager Chan Pich said the demand for rice globally, especially white rice, has shot up.
“The reason I see this is because of the effect of climate change in Europe, Australia, the United States and other regions.
“They experienced drought earlier this year, which increased the demand for rice, and also because India has stopped the export of white rice and broken rice to meet their domestic demand.”
“Our Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines, which have large populations, have also experienced a shortage of rice.
They have ordered a variety of white rice from other ASEAN countries, including Vietnam and Cambodia,” he said.
Chan Pich said rice imports by the Philippines could see Cambodia’s rice exports surging to millions of tonnes given the country’s high demand and consumption by its population.
Indonesia also plans to import rice from Cambodia to shore up its supply.
