Except for some government-to-government deals, Thailand will not sell its rice stocks abroad in the near future.

It will wait patiently for other exporters, mainly Vietnam and India, to run out of their rice before starting to release its stocks.

"Thailand still has high capacity to hold larger inventories," Yanyong Phuangrach, permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry, said yesterday. "The government can keep stocks for years, while possibly releasing some quantities of rice under G-to-G contracts, which will not affect the price of rice in the market."

The policy aims to ensure high prices for Thai rice, especially in the domestic market, so that local farmers can enjoy good incomes, he said.

The government is negotiating with the Chinese government to exchange rice for tablet computers. It is also talking with other countries about G-to-G contracts.

The ministry reported that since October 7, 6.77 million tonnes of paddy rice had entered the government's warehouses during the first year of pledging for the main crop. The government has already spent about Bt100 billion for the first year of the rice-mortgaging scheme.

Of the new rice supplies, 2.9 million tonnes were white paddy rice, 3.07 million tonnes jasmine rice, 439,829 tonnes sticky rice, 335,459 tonnes provincial fragrant rice and 15,242 tonnes Pathum Thani rice.

The average quote for jasmine is Bt15,000-Bt16,500 per tonne, lower than the pledging price of Bt20,000, while white rice was quoted at Bt9,000-Bt13,900, lower than the pledging price of Bt15,000.

The second pledging period for the second crop is running from this month to June. About 8 million tonnes of paddy are expected to enter the stockpiles.

Continuing with the pledging policy will continue to help drive up domestic rice prices, Yanyong said.

Source: The Nation