Ulterior motive seen in news leak on disqualification of 3 rice traders

Recently, news emerged that a committee appointed by Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, tasked with verifying the qualifications of rice buyers, found that three bidders were disqualified. These companies are: V Eight Intertrading Co Ltd, Thanasarn Rice Co Ltd, and SSMR Agriculture Co Ltd.

V Eight Intertrading had won the bid with a high price of 19.073 baht per kilogram, amounting to over 286 million baht, earlier in June. However, the bid results have not been announced yet.

A source from the ministry expressed surprise that the results of the qualification check for the six bidders had been leaked to the public. This information should have remained confidential until all steps were completed and reported to Phumtham. This is an attempt to disrupt the bidding process, with some companies seeking to reclaim their bid securities, the source said.

According to the news leak, the three companies did not pass the in-depth qualification checks required to win the bid. They had past legal issues with entities that caused damage to the Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO). These entities were sued by the PWO for damages related to storage and inspection contracts for cassava chips and rice, with the cases still pending in the Administrative Court.

Although the three companies were not directly involved, they were indirectly connected and related. Therefore, it was deemed inappropriate to continue negotiations with them, and they should be disqualified from the current bidding process.

The next steps will involve detailed considerations on whether the disqualified companies will receive their bid securities back and if any legal infractions were committed. According to the Ministry of Commerce, if the qualifications are not met, the bid securities should be returned. However, other linked agencies will conduct further investigations into any related issues.

The source said that the auction attracted considerable interest and high bids of 15-19 baht per kilogram, which indicated that the quality of the rice, despite being over 10 years old, was still good. The ministry does not want to let this opportunity pass and has conducted thorough background checks to understand the behaviours of the companies involved, the source said.

Some groups have been trying to prevent the auction to avoid comparisons with the NCPO era, when rice was auctioned at only 5 baht per kilogram, compared to the current prices of 15-19 baht per kilogram, the source said.

"Regardless of the outcome, whether it becomes a political issue or not, the Ministry of Commerce will not cancel the auction. Instead, it will negotiate with the remaining three companies to get the best possible price," the source said.

The three remaining and fully qualified companies that the PWO will negotiate with to obtain the best prices for the country are” Sahatan Co Ltd from Nakhon Pathom province; BNK Agriculture 2024 Co Ltd from Nakhon Sawan province; and Subsaeng Thong Rice Co Ltd from Suphanburi province. 

These companies initially offered prices starting from 12 baht per kilogram. The aim is to secure higher bids than those initially proposed, with the extent of the increase to be determined by the price negotiation committee, the source said.