The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday will open an auction for 92,000 tonnes of rice in storage, mainly deteriorated stock for animal feed producers, says a ministry source.

Of the total up for auction, 66,927 tonnes is mixed-grade rice damaged by disasters, a supply that entered the government's mortgage scheme from 2008-09.

The remaining 25,153 tonnes is second-grade fragrant rice and white rice that entered the mortgage scheme from 2005-07.

The rice is kept warehoused in five provinces in the northern, northeastern and central regions.

Eligible bidders include rice traders, animal feed producers, small livestock farms, agriculture institutes and livestock cooperatives. The winners will be announced Tuesday.

Rice deliveries smaller than 20,000 tonnes must be finished within 30 days of the contract signing. Sizes between 20,000 and 50,000 tonnes should be done within 60-90 days.

Chanchai Rakthananon, the president of the Thai Rice Mills Association, said the auction might not be well received by the private sector, as deteriorated rice cannot be made into packed rice.

More likely was that the government would have to sell at a loss to millers which the government originally contracted to keep the rice.

Mr Chanchai agreed with this year's policy of milling paddy into rice every 10 days and releasing stocks as soon as possible, as keeping the stockpile for longer periods would result in huge losses such as happened in the past.

If the government wants to keep rice for several years, a standard warehouse could ensure management of stock without quality deterioration.

Source: Bangkok Post