Tariffs take a toll on desi comfort food of Indian diaspora in the US

Indians living in the US are feeling the pinch when it comes to their favourite food items. The doubling of US tariff on Indian products to 50 per cent from August 27 has hiked the prices of essential ingredients in their pantry substantially in the last 15-20 days. Although, on Friday, Trump removed some of the tariffs he had imposed on over 200 food products, the gains from that will take time.

Right now, the Indian diaspora in the US is reeling from the price hike, now that the old inventory is over in stores and the fresh arrivals are significantly costlier. Raghav, a resident of New Jersey, says the cost of almost all the items in Indian grocery stores have increased. For example, the price of Cothas Coffee (450 gm) has increased to $11 from $7 before the imposition of the revised tariff. Similarly, the price of Sona Masoori Rice (20 lbs) rose to $24 from $16 in retail Indian grocery shops. However, at Costco, it is available for $21, and Indians get rice from there, he said. Prices of all dal varieties have increased in similar proportions as well, he added.

“We are witnessing a price escalation of 5-15 per cent on different groceries. The cost of getting shipments (individual purchases) from India has gone up by 100 per cent,” said Priya.

Shekhar in California said the price of Dosa in a local restaurant has shot up to $25 from $20 in the last 15 days.

Even as India-US trade negotiations are at an advanced stage, the neighbouring South Asian countries like Pakistan, which face relatively lower levels of tariffs, are eating into the market share of retail exporters from India.

“The uncertainty (about the likely changes in the quantum of tariffs) is a big challenge for the exporter of groceries to the US market. Our rice has become uncompetitive because tariff rates on other rice-exporting countries from South Asia are far lower than ours,” Kiran Kumar, who exports rice to the Indian diaspora in the US, said.

Friday’s rollback of tariffs on some items like spices, tea and mango could bring some relief, but it will take a while for those consignments to reach US shores. Not all NRIs are bothered though as they are in a relatively higher income bracket. “They are more interested in issues like politics and H-1B visas than in the price increases,” Prasad Kunisetty, a New Jersey-based techie, said.

(Names of persons quoted in the story have been changed)