When Divya Teja, a software professional in New Jersey read about the Indian government announcing a ban on rice exports, it was just another piece of news from back home. But a few hours later, her WhatsApp group of friends in the U.S. started buzzing constantly with the news and the discussions that it will lead to shortage of rice in the U.S.
Majority of the messages had concern writ large, asking their near and dear ones to rush to the nearest Indian store to pick up the rice bags. She too joined the chorus and landed at a mall the next morning only to find queues of Indians picking up multiple bags fearing the prices would go up and also the shortage.
Ramya, another Indian software professional in Plano, Dallas, and her entire group were confronted with a similar situation and rushed to the nearest store. The price of the rice bag had already doubled since they last picked up one. “We had no other option but to pick up a few bags as a precautionary measure despite the sudden price hike,” she told The Hindu. Sowjanya Yatham from Troy in Michigan said the stocks of the most preferred Sona Masoori have vanished from stores across Detroit area that has large population of South Indians.
