Rachane Potjanasuntorn, director-general of the department, said yesterday the ministry had decided to release the stock to balance supply and demand. "The release of the largest stocks [of the year] will decrease the shortage of rice in the market. The government expects the bidding will attract many traders and should gain good prices because of high market demand," said Rachane.

The bidding will enable the ministry to stock more rice from the government's pledging programme for upcoming harvests. The next programme starts on November 1.

The ministry is reported to have a stockpile of about three million tonnes of rice. Bidders can submit offers between 10am and noon on Tuesday, and the department will announce the winners by 2pm the same day.

The department will provide a discount to the winning bidder for the transportation of the rice from government warehouses.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the government had held the jasmine-rice stockpile for longer than expected, and any further delay would affect its quality. Jasmine rice from the 2004-05 season has previously been the subject of quality concerns, with some of the stock having been mixed with other rice varieties.

Offer prices should be lower than the market price in view of the age of the rice up for sale, he said.

According to the association, the market price is US$532 (Bt19,970) per tonne for jasmine rice from 2004-05. The average for white rice is $318.

Chookiat also said the government's plan to increase the guaranteed price for its pledging programme would result in lower export growth next year.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation