The shortage of rice and subsequent price increase has hit small retailers the most, shop owners have said.
Grocers said they can no longer stock the quantities of rice they used to because they cannot afford it.
Neither can they increase retail prices too far.
Fazal of Muneera Grocery in Bur Dubai said: "I now pay Dh300 for a 40kg pack instead of Dh100 a few months ago. But for fear of losing customers I cannot hike the retail price proportionately. In addition, wholesalers are no longer offering a three-month credit facility."
"I am paying the wholesale dealer Dh240 for each 40kg pack of rice, which is two times the cost compared to a couple of months ago," said Mohammad of Mahada Supermarket on Al Mussallah Road.
However, he now buys larger quantities of rice which he manages to sell quickly. "This is because panic-stricken buyers are buying large quantities thinking stocks may run out any time or rice will become prohibitively expensive," said Mohammad.
But owners of smaller groceries said prices were harming them. "We have been spending a fortune on our monthly stock of rice. We can barely manage to run our small businesses," said Mustafa of Reshma grocery.
300
dirhams is what a Bur Dubai grocer is paying for a 40kg pack of rice today