The Commerce Ministry will open bidding for its rice stockpile of 375,000 tonnes on Thursday to help ease the strain on the market. Of the stockpile, 300,000 tonnes is 5-per-cent white rice, while the remainder is sticky rice.

Vichak Visetnoi, director-general of Foreign Trade Department, said yesterday that domestic supply for rice was declining because the harvest season was late this year. The total crop produced was 21.2 million tonnes of paddy rice, of which 92.28 per cent has entered the market.

"There is a high demand now because both importing and exporting countries have suffered natural disasters," Vichak said.

Bidders are required to have 2 per cent collateral of their bid value. Winners are required to sign a contract with the department within 10 days after the bidding results are announced, and need to start exporting their stocks within 45 days.

The freight on board (FOB) price of jasmine rice is quoted at US$1,119 (Bt36,764) per tonne, increased from $1,116 per tonne on January 6. In addition, 100-per-cent rice is quoted $609, 5-per-cent rice is priced $577, while 10-per-cent sticky rice goes for $779 per tonne. Only 25-per-cent rice dropped from $508 to $505 per tonne.

Source: The Nation