Thai government organizes auction of largest lot of rice

BANGKOK, June 3 (TNA) - The government, through the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Foreign Trade, is putting a largest lot of 2.24 million tons of rice from official stocks up for general auction later this month. Department of Foreign Trade Deputy Director-General Keerati Rushchano told journalists on Friday that the new auction, set on June 15, will be the fourth but largest one for old rice from government stocks this year. Keerati acknowledged it is the right time for the biggest lot because market prices of rice have been on the rise, while the government is relieving its inventories to reduce costs and avoid rice decay in the rainy season currently. Keerati said if the whole lot is sold, about 8 million tons of rice will remain in the government's stocks, but the administration will not sell rice at any unreasonably low price. According to the senior official, the latest lot consists of 16 kinds of rice stocked in 35 Thai provinces, 42 per cent of which is 5 per cent broken white rice amounting to about 940,000 tons. The senior official announced that interested parties are welcome to inspect the rice during June 6-10, before the one-day auction on June 15, when highest auction prices will also be publicly declared. Since the Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), also headed by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha, took control of the national administration in May 2014, the government has sold 5.48 million tons of old rice, worth 58.28 billion baht, so far. (TNA)