The government has lost the opportunity to make at least a billion baht by allowing MT Centertrade to resell rice stocks to other exporters, although the Commerce Ministry insists the company can resell the stockpiles.

Yanyong Phuangrach, permanent secretary at the ministry, yesterday said the MT Centertrade, who won the big lot of rice bidding from the government, did not break the contract for reselling the rice stocks to other traders.

He said it is a normal trading process. If this company can move all rice stockpiles from the government's warehouses and pay the debt within the set time, the firm has full authority to resell its rice.

MT Centertrade was reported to have secured almost 2 million tonnes of rice from the government at Bt12,000 a tonne. However, it has resold the rice stocks at more than Bt13,000 a tonne to other exporters and millers.

Yanyong added that it is not necessary for the ministry to investigate the bidding process as the ministry had followed the government's mandate to sell the stockpiles. He insisted the bidding process to choose the winner was transparent.

However, a ricetrader source noted that as the government had allowed this company to resell rice from the government, the government will lose several billions from the practice.

"Instead of other rice traders joining the government's bidding, they will wait to purchase rice from the winner of the bidding to avoid problems with the government," said the source.

According to the source, MT Centertrade will make a profit of at least Bt1 billion to Bt2 billion from reselling the rice stocks.

Source: The Nation