Govt sells 860,000 tonnes in January: Niwatthumrong

 

He said that the rice would be delivered to overseas private buyers within six months. 

He said that the government had tried to release some 7-9 million tonnes of stockpiles by all means, but the House dissolution has presented some obstacles in inking agreements with government buyers. 

He noted that a Chinese state enterprise, one of the potential buyers, would announce in the next two days whether it would strike a government-to-government rice deal with Thailand. The state enterprise is considering whether to buy 1 million tonnes of rice, but it may not desire to follow the plan after the National Anti-Corruption Commission has launched an investigation into the rice-pledging scheme.

He also said that it is impossible to release all 17.8 million tonnes, as the volume is over half of annual global demand of 35 million tonnes. Speedy release would also put pressure on the price, he said. 

However, the Commerce Ministry would continue with its efforts to release the stockpiles until February.