Bidding of nearly one million of government rice started
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More than one hundred bidders have participated in the Commerce Ministry's first rice auction of 2015, bidding on almost one-million tons of rice in government stockpiles.
The auction of 999,763.61 tons of rice began on Thursday morning at the Foreign Trade Department. This was the first time that the ministry had announced the minimum rate as a starting point for bidding.
In the afternoon, the ministry was to announce the names of bidders who offered the highest prices and the auction results will be submitted to the National Rice Policy Committee for approval.
Currently, there are 17.5 million tons of rice sitting in the government's warehouses nationwide. The ministry has come up with a plan to release 10 million tons during 2015 and the rest of the stock within the next two years, in order to prevent further damage caused by deterioration, as well as to increase the efficiency of rice management.
