Four dealers confirmed that export contracts of around 2 million metric tons of rice, worth $1 billion, are at the risk of being cancelled. Before the export ban, India used to sell around 500,000 tons of non-basmati white rice every month, Gupta said. Now, prices are likely to drop, and the traders are likely to suffer losses, said a New-Delhi-based dealer with a global trade house. Traders say while global prices will go up because of India's export ban, local rates are likely to drop. Top buyers of Indian non-basmati rice include Benin, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo, Guinea, Bangladesh and Nepal.

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Persons: Nitin Gupta, Gupta, B.V, Krishna Rao, Rao, Rice, Rajendra Jadhav, Mayank Bhardwaj, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Traders, Olam Agri India Ltd, Reuters, Rice, Association, El, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India, Mumbai, Delhi, Benin, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo, Guinea, Bangladesh, Nepal, Asia