Soaring global rice prices and export restrictions have left some Montreal businesses scrambling to secure their supplies.

The price of rice worldwide has risen 70 per cent in the last year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, as many Asian rice-producing countries rein in exports to stabilize costs.

The surge has led to retail rice prices jumping as much as 25 per cent in Montreal, where some wholesalers are worried about future supplies.

"I can't believe that prices can jump that fast, that much," said Brij Sehgal, owner of NutriFoods, a wholesale rice distributor in Montreal specializing in distributing imported foods.

He said his supply costs have escalated in recent months by "almost 150 per cent."

Since major rice-producing countries have cut back on exports, Sehgal has become so concerned about his future supplies he is travelling to India and Pakistan this weekend to explore alternative sources, he said.

"My suppliers have indicated to me that they don't know how long they can supply me," he said. "Whether it's a real shortage or a political decision, there are strong rumours."

Sehgal said he understands fears around hoarding rice supplies given the export shortage, but he said wholesalers like him are worried about what they see as a "very serious problem" that could hurt their businesses.

"After so many years of being in this business, my business has to stay healthy," he said. "I do my best part, and I don't have the intention of hoarding the stuff, or inflating the prices."

Clva Siva, who runs the Marché Murugan grocery store in Montreal's Villeray district, said his clients, many of whom eat rice several times a day, are powerless to do anything about rising costs.

A 4.5-kilogram bag of basmati rice at his store now costs $7.99, up from $4.89 earlier this year. "We feel hard times now," he said this week. "And we have a hard time with a few customers. But people have to buy, they have no choice."

In the United States, some chain stores such as Sam's Club have limited how much rice their customers can buy because of what the membership retailer called "recent supply and demand trends."

With files from Associated Press