Thailand's military government has sold 426,977 tonnes of rice from state stocks to 47 local buyers, a Commerce Ministry official said on Tuesday, continuing efforts to offload rice accumulated under a previous government's subsidy scheme. Some 668,000 tonnes had been offered in the tender.
Thailand, the world's second-largest rice exporter, has about 13.9 million tonnes in stockpiles built up under a generous subsidy scheme run by the government that was ousted in May 2014. The military government is trying to accelerate sales and has said it expects to sell off the rice over two years, although industry observers say selling so much in such a short period will be difficult.
The rice sold in the latest tender fetched 6.3 billion baht ($178 million), Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the ministry's foreign trade department, told reporters. "The price was better than in the past but the quantity sold was lower than expected because buyers want different types of rice," Duangporn said. The sale involved jasmine rice and 5 percent broken white rice, she said. The authorities sold 1.15 million tonnes of rice in the previous tender, almost all that was on offer. On Monday, the Commerce Ministry said China had agreed to buy 1 million tonnes of rice in a government-to-government deal.