The government is allowing the Commerce Ministry to sell 375,000 tons of rice from its stockpile again in the next few weeks.
Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Phuangrach stated that a committee on the country's national rice policy, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwankhiri, has endorsed the Commerce Ministry's attempt to re-open the bidding for 375,000 tons of rice from the government's stockpile.
The scheme was previously withheld because bidding prices were too low.
Yanyong said he expected the Foreign Trade Department to release a term of reference for the bidding in the next few weeks.
In another development, the National Rice Policy Committee was informed that the government currently has around five to six million tons of rice in stock.
The panel suggested an urgent release of the supply before new rice outputs flow into the market.
However, the Commerce Ministry must pay particular attention on the distribution price so as to limit the government's loss.
According to a discussion on government-to-government rice deals, the trade ministry is in negotiations with several countries which are interested in procuring rice from Thailand.
