Rice is a staple for billions of people around the world, with more than half of the world’s population using it in their daily diet, according to the United Nations. But the world’s biggest exporter of rice – India – recently announced a ban on exports of non-basmati rice, causing a run on the product, including in parts of New York and the U.S.

Harjas Singh and his family run Aaojee, an Indian grocery store in Middletown.

Recently, customers have scrambled to buy non-basmati white rice. The grain is now proving to be a precious resource due to the Indian government's abrupt ban.

“We’ve seen customers flooding in. They’ve been concerned about whether there’s going to be rice in the future, how much should they get now,” said Singh, a store manager.

To be fair to their customers, Singh says his family’s store, along with many others across the nation, are limiting how many bags a customer can buy. It’s one per customer at the Middletown shop.

Singh said the export ban forced them to increase prices from $19.99 to $24.99 per bag.

“Already, we don’t have a lot compared to what we used to in inventory at the store. Whatever shipments are on the way right now, we have whatever is left in that. But after that, we don’t know what’s coming next,” Singh said. “We don’t know how many orders can be placed in the future. We don’t know what the warehouses have for us.”

Their stockroom, he said. is usually piled high with rice: basmati and non-basmati. The one that’s banned – non-basmati – is most popular in southern India.

“This room has usually been the jewel of our store. It’s, like, full almost to the ceiling, just filled with rice. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen it just dwindle and dwindle and dwindle,” he said. “For some people, it’s all they eat. They don’t eat any other type of rice. They don’t eat any other type of starch.”

India is the top rice exporter in the world, accounting for around 40% of all exported rice on the planet. Non-basmati white rice makes up about a quarter of its exports.

The Indian government says it had to impose the export ban to control inflation costs after major weather and flooding devastated rice crops in the north.

The ban is creating concern not just in the U.S., but all over the globe. Top countries impacted by the ban include neighbors Nepal, Bangladesh and Malaysia, but also Madagascar, Kenya and Benin.

Global rice prices have surged to a 12-year high, according to the U.N.'s food agency. In July, the rice price index was up 2.8%, an increase of about 20% compared to last year. Rice prices are at their highest levels since September 2011.

At Aaojee, the owners want to meet the needs of their customers who depend on rice to feed their families. Singh said the uncertainty of the times worries him.

“If I have a duty to fulfill in providing food for them, which is through the rice and other groceries, then if I can’t meet that, it really strikes me the wrong way,” Singh said. “Because now I have a responsibility that I can’t fulfill, but it’s also out of my hands.”

The USA Rice Federation says consumers can rest easy. There is enough U.S. rice to go around, saying that with seven states in the U.S. growing rice, they have plenty of American rice to meet demand.