China will buy a million tonnes of rice from the country’s huge stockpile accumulated under the previous government’s subsidy scheme, authorities said Monday.
Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya told reporters that China had agreed during his visit to Beijing last week to purchase the rice.
China would buy the rice "at market price" the minister said, adding that there would be further negotiations for another million tonnes in September.
The country built up more than 13 million tonnes of surplus rice through Yingluck Shinawatra's rice-pledging scheme. The current government said that the now-defunct programme was full of corruption and irregularities.
Bangkok has struggled to sell off the stockpiles, managing to auction off only 3.88 million tonnes for around 40 billion baht, according to government figures.
Iran was also interested in buying rice from Thailand, Mr Chatchai said.