Recently, India has placed a major export ban on the export of rice from the country which has some consumers worried about a rice shortage. However, this is not the case says Inland Cape Rice Company owner and Illinois rice farmer Sam Schneider.
“If India has an export ban on non-basmati rice, that could potentially help us in the short term. But, in the long term, while they are building up their stocks to the point where they decide to flood the world market again, then we may be looking back at another flood of the market with cheap rice,” said Schneider. “So, in the short term, we have no concerns here in the U.S. as far as domestic supply. We have great farmers, we have a good supply of rice- we’re coming up on harvest. Our rice figures are up here in the U.S. which is great and healthy for our industry. So, we are excited about that, but it is kind of a two-fold issue.”
He adds that rice farmers in the south have already started harvesting their crops and he will get ready to begin harvesting his crop in September.
