The government has vowed to scrap a planned rice sale again if the prices offered by exporters are inappropriate and unacceptably low.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday the government would take into account investment cost, market price and quality of rice before accepting any bids from Monday's tender, the second attempt in two weeks to sell state rice stocks.

The government on Monday offered 350,000 tonnes of 5% broken white rice and 150,000 tonnes of Pathum Thani fragrant rice as part of its accelerated plan to sell its massive stockpile of up to 5.6 million tonnes of milled rice bought from farmers to support prices in the previous season.

The latest tender received bids from 11 companies to buy a total 815,529 tonnes: 659,454 tonnes of white rice and 156,074 tonnes for Pathum Thani worth a combined 12.44 billion baht.

The bidding prices for white rice range from 11,765 to 15,550 baht per tonne, with Pathum Thani fragrant rice at 15,500 to 18,500 baht a tonne.

The prices offered for white rice are much lower than in the previous bid last month, when they quoted 14,000 to 16,000 baht a tonne.

Vichak Visetnoi, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said that authorities would attempt today to bargain with exporters for higher prices before submitting the outcome to Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai for acknowledgement, and to the national rice policy committee chaired by the premier for final approval.

In related development, Mr Abhisit said that the cabinet yesterday directed the Commerce Ministry to investigate the release of information stating that the government would sell as many as 2 million tonnes of its rice stocks over the next few months, as such news would cause a price slump and affect the overall rice trading market.

Source: Bangkok Post