India's export ban on non-basmati rice has sent up local rice prices in the UAE and further tightened stock position, said a report.

Some stores are already cutting down the quantity sold to consumers, the Gulf News report said, quoting Deepak Thawani, marketing manager for Tilda International.

'Non-basmati rice from India is available in major outlets, but recently it has been noticed that these outlets are rationing quantities. For example, one bag per consumer.'

'This step indicates that there are not enough stocks of non-basmati rice available and due to the continued ban, it is becoming more and more difficult to get non-basmati rice from India,' he added.

According to an expert, the Indian government is not likely to lift the ban on the export of white rice before April or May next year.

India banned the export of white rice in March in spite of good local supply, after food prices rose to record new levels.

On a different note, Kamal Vachani, director of the Al Maya Group, opined that India's rice ban will not affect the local price and supply position as  the UAE does not rely only on India, but imports rice from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, too.

He added that as of now, UAE has enough rice stocks and ruled out further price rise.