UAE: Expats bring home rice after summer vacation as India bans export of rice

UAE: Expats bring home rice after summer vacation as India bans export of rice

As India has banned the export of non-basmati rice since July 20, several UAE residents have resorted to bringing rice from India when they return after their summer vacations. However, for most it is just a matter of preference more than anything.

For Indian expat Shabna, bringing rice from India is more of a habit than necessity. This year as well, she brought her regular pack of 5kgs of rice. “Every year, we bring a certain type of rice that is available in my hometown,” she said. “We get through about five or six kilos of white rice in a month. We have a lot of family and friends here, so we also have a lot of gatherings. This means our rice consumption is also quite high.”

According to Shabna, lugging the packet of rice here probably saves her family Dh3. “It is really not a big saving but when we go to India and we have space in the luggage, we end up bringing the rice back,” she said.

Asked if she was worried about a spike in rice prices, she said it was not a matter of concern for her. “In our household, we use basmati rice the most,” she said.