Barter trade between rice and oil could be possible in principle but a careful study of details would be needed, says Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong.

Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan proposed such a barter trade earlier, suggesting PTT Plc should act as the middleman. However, no official proposal has been raised.

If barter transactions are implemented, the prices of oil and rice must be set fairly and PTT may act as the importer, he said.

"The bottom line is the country will not be at a disadvantage as the government has to oversee an appropriate volume of barter," he said.A ministry source said Thailand has never used straight bartering in modern times, though the concept was raised by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's government.

Account trading, where a certain monetary amount of a product is traded for another monetary amount, has been used to exchange crops for trains or weapons, and the Export-Import Bank of Thailand guaranteed the amount of trade.

Mr Kittiratt said the Cabinet will consider the criteria and price of the rice mortgaging scheme at its meeting tomorrow, as well as the appointment of a new board for the Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) after the resignation of the whole board.

Another source said PWO's president, Anukul Tamprasirt, will resign today, possibly due to a recent sale of 300,000 tonnes of rice to Indonesia at US$560 a tonne during the caretaker government.

Mr Anukul was appointed as PWO chief last November. The PWO plays a major marketing role for the Commerce Ministry, so it is likely whoever replaces him will have the full trust of the Pheu Thai Party to support its rice mortgage policy.

Source: Bangkok Post