The Commerce Ministry has agreed to sell almost 363,000 tonnes of rice from a total of 570,000 tonnes it put up for auction 10 days ago.
Of the 362,864 tonnes marked for sale yesterday, 141,489 tonnes are for human consumption and 221,375 tonnes for industrial uses such as making noodles and animal feed.
Commerce permanent secretary Chutima Bunyapraphasara said the rice sale had already received approval from the National Rice Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The ministry will also consider releasing more rice for auctions before the new harvest season, with an estimated volume of 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes, she said.
"We plan to sell more rice from March-July to prevent any possible effects on prices of rice from new crops," Ms Chutima said.
The second rice crop will be harvested from August, while the output of rice from the 2016 main crop will run from November-February.
Authorities are working hard to manage the sales of more than 11 million tonnes of different grades of rice in stocks, accumulated from the previous government's rice-pledging scheme.
The scheme, which bought rice from farmers at prices 40% higher than market rates from 2011-14, has decreased the competitiveness of Thai rice in the export market, leading to a huge stockpile in state warehouses.
A total of 18.7 million tonnes were in state stocks when the scheme ended in 2014. Rice exports plunged sharply by 34% to 6.9 million tonnes in 2012, a year after the scheme was implemented.
Authorities must speed up rice sales to prevent further losses, especially from rotten rice that has been kept for years in warehouses.
Ms Chutima said the ministry was studying the possibility of allowing foreign bidders to buy rice directly. At present, only Thai traders are permitted to bid at auctions to buy rice for export.
Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the drought that had hit rice production in many countries could be a positive factor for Thai rice.
Such high demand could ensure the country exports 9.5 million tonnes as planned this year.