Rice prices have nearly doubled across Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf over the last few years due to increasing demand and shrinking supplies.

According to industry experts, declining production and growing demand for basmati from the Middle East, Europe and the United States is likely to put further pressure on prices.

 Basmati is grown only in the foothills of the Himalayas. India is the largest cultivator, but it is also grown in Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Saudi Arabia’s food import bill has grown by an average 19 % annually over the past four years to $12 billion in 2007, making it the Middle East’s largest food importer, according to a recent SABB study.