BANGKOK, Sept 21 – Nine rice trading companies have won bids to buy rice from the Commerce Ministry, a senior official said today.
Manat Soiploy, director general of the Foreign Trade Department (FTP), said the proposed prices offered by the nine companies were in accord with the mid-price set by the government.
Price negotiations were made with the bid winners after the auction, said Mr Manus who expressed satisfaction on the agreed prices.
Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom is authorised to make a final decision on the rice deal.
The FTP chief said the auctioned rice has been in stock for a year and it should be sold to make room for a new batch of rice.
This is the fifth sale of rice from the government’s stock.
Mr Manut said the auctioned rice is mainly for domestic distribution, and not for export. If the auction doesn’t affect rice price in the local market, it will be held every week until the end of the year, he said.
He said the average rice price is US$670 per tonne this year, a US$100 increase from last year.
