Thailand to sell 375,000 tonnes of rice

Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, will open a tender to sell 375,000 tonnes of rice from government stocks through a tender this week, a Commerce Ministry official said on Monday. "We decided to release some of our stocks this week in order to help solve tight supply problems, as there is very little supply left in the market while global demand remains strong," Wichak Wisetnoi, director general of the Commerce Ministry's Department of Foreign Trade, told reporters.
The government holds 6 million tonnes of rice in its stocks. Wichak said exporters could submit their bids on January 21 and the rice would be for export only. The tender would be for 300,000 tonnes of 5 percent broken grade white rice and 75,000 tonnes of glutinous rice.