India, the world's largest producer of rice, restricts its exports due to rising prices

As a measure to guarantee the internal supply of rice and stop price rises, the Government of India announced the suspension of part of the exports of the cereal, amid the effects on crops due to the heavy rains in recent weeks. India has banned the export of white rice with immediate effect, according to a government notice, after a late start to seasonal monsoon rains damaged the crop and raised fears of a production shortfall. Heavy rains have damaged the country's crops and rice prices have risen by more than 11% in the past 12 months. The Government clarified that the restriction on external sales of this food does not include basmati variety rice, considered the most popular in Asian cuisine, thus prioritizing the domestic market.