The Thai government has approved the sale of 2 million tonnes of rice from its stocks through a tender, a senior Commerce Ministry official said on Monday.

"The commerce minister has signed contracts to sell 2 million tonnes to exporters," Prapol Milindhachinda, secretary to the minister, told Reuters.

The authorities had originally planned to sell 3.76 million tonnes but this was scaled back because of the low prices offered, Prapol said.

The rice was sold at an average price of around 14,000 baht ($405) per tonne, he said. That compares with domestic market prices for milled rice of around 16,000 baht, exporters said.

Domestic prices have risen sightly over the past few weeks as less rice was available on the market due to government intervention, traders said.

The government has been buying rice directly from farmers during the harvesting period to support them.
Under the current buying programme, which runs through July, it pays farmers 11,800 baht per tonne for paddy, only slightly less than the 12,000 baht per tonne it paid for the last crop.

The government is estimated to hold another 3 million tonnes of rice in its stocks after the sale, Prapol said. Thailand is the world's biggest rice exporter.

Source: Reuters