The Commerce Ministry plans to sell the government's white paddy stockpile at a minimum price of 11,000 baht a tonne or 15,500 baht for milled white rice, says permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach.

The price for Hom Mali rice must be at least 29,000 to 30,000 baht a tonne.

The ministry on Wednesday wrapped up its pledging scheme for the main crop, adding 6.7 million tonnes of paddy to its stockpiles at a cost of 140 billion baht.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom earlier said the ministry's ultimate goal is to at least break even in the pledging scheme.

The price of white rice may be low, but it is aimed at receiving a premium price for Hom Mali rice, he said.

The ministry accepted a total of 3.06 million tonnes of Hom Mali rice, 2.9 million tonnes of white rice, 440,000 tonnes of glutinous rice and 300,000 tonnes of provincial Hom Mali rice.

The government paid farmers 100 billion baht for the guaranteed price and another 40 billion baht for storage and management fees.

The amount is lower than the initial projection of 400 billion baht, as paddy output was damaged by last year's flooding.

Mr Yanyong said even though the government plans to accept all grains into the scheme, farmers could still choose to sell their harvest in the market and therefore lower the amount entering the scheme.

However, the ministry hailed the project as a success, as it helped push the domestic paddy price up by an extra 1,500 to 2,000 baht a tonne and 5% rise in the domestic price compared with the 2010-11 season.

Mr Yanyong said the global price stood at US$550-600 a tonne for white rice and $1,100 for Hom Mali.

He said these are appropriate levels, as the ministry is confident Thailand can sell rice its rice later this year after competitors such as Vietnam and India are running low on supply.

Mr Yanyong insisted that the government's plan to offload the stock will not jeopardise domestic prices, but it also will not focus on maximising profits.

Choices include government-to-government deals at an appropriate price, exchanging rice for other goods and open bidding in the market.

The government yesterday kicked off the scheme for a second rice crop until the end of June, with expectations of reaching 8 million tonnes.

Source: Bangkok post