Thailand will sell 641,000 tonnes of rice from government stockpiles this month in its second auction from the inventories this year, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday. Thailand, the world's second-biggest rice exporter after India, has stocks of about 12 million tonnes that it is struggling to offload following the end of a rice-buying scheme under the previous government.
Bidding for 418,000 tonnes of rice fit for human consumption will take place on March 30 and bidding for 223,000 tonnes unfit for human consumption will occur on March 31, Duangporn Rodphaya, chief of the foreign trade department at the commerce ministry, told reporters. "The government will open bidding for rice in government stocks as it sees that the market needs rice including rice for industrial use," said Duangporn. "This is a good time to offload rice from government stockpiles."
Thailand has about 12 million tonnes of rice in state warehouses around half of which is no longer fit for human consumption, according to the commerce ministry. The stockpiling scheme, which bought rice at above-market prices, distorted global prices and caused Thailand to lose its crown as the world's number one exporter of the grain.
The government began selling rice deemed not fit for human consumption for industrial use, including animal feed, last year. Thai 5 percent broken grade rice was at $365 to $371 a tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day. On February 16, the government said it sold 152,377 tonnes of rice from state stockpiles in its first auction of the year, lower than its 204,000 tonnes target.
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