Official auction opened for 1.2 million tonnes of Thai rice

BANGKOK, May 3 (TNA) - The Ministry of Commerce has decided to open an auction of Thai rice amounting 1.2 million tonnes to the public, with interested parties invited to attend a briefing on the terms of reference (TOR) on May 4. Duangporn Rodphaya, Director-General of the Ministry’s Department of Foreign Trade, told journalists of the update on May 2. Duangporn said the decision was made following an approval by the National Rice Policy Committee at its meeting on April 25. Duangporn acknowledged the green light was based on the fact that there is now a considerable market demand for broken-milled rice to substitute imports of animal feeds. Besides, the ongoing drought could delay new rice supply from off-season harvest and the auction would maintain public and national interests in terms of storage costs and prevention of disaster damages when the monsoon season comes. According to the senior official, Wednesday's briefing on TOR of the rice auction has been set at 10am at her department in Bangkok, followed by the inspection of rice quality for interested parties available during May 10-16. (TNA)