Gulf rice traders fear further dip in prices

* Gulf rice traders expect prices to drop 20-30 percent

* Low monsoon rain in India expected this year

By Amena Bakr

DUBAI, June 26 (Reuters) - Rice traders in the Gulf are worried the price of the grain, already hit by the economic crisis and excess supply, will fall further if India lifts an export ban, traders said.

"If India has a good harvest of rice this year and decides to lift its export ban then the rice business will be even less profitable," Nishit Patel, a trader of Pakistani rice in the Gulf region, said.

Patel said the price of Basmati rice had fallen to $1,600 per tonne in June this year from $1,900 per tonne in the same period last year.

"If India decides to flood the market with rice I'm expecting the price to fall by at least another 20-30 percent by the end of the year," another Gulf rice trader said.

Last week, a senior official in India said the country might lift curbs on rice and wheat exports but will make a decision based on how much grain it needs for domestic demand. [ID:nDEL305108]