Thailand To Sell Out 18 Million Tons Of Rice In Three Years

BANGKOK : -- Thai  Ministry of Commerce says the 18 million tons of rice the government has bought from farmers under the corruption-plagued rice pledging scheme would be sold out in three years.

The  permanent secretary for Commerce, Ms Chutima Boonyaprapat, said the rice sale would be through auctions, G2G contracts, AFET, and the private sector.

 She said the  government would call  for bidding and it will start from  200,000-500,000 tons of rice in state stockpiles within the next two months.

If combined with rice to be sold by the private sector, total rice sale this year will be amounted to 8 million tons, she said.

Thai government is also set to sell 3-4 million tons of rice by the end of the year, she said.

Upon totaling  she said 18 million tons of rice could be released in three years.

The Foreign Trade Department said 500,000 tons of rice would be sold monthly throughout the three year period.