The Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) is likely to drop the unofficial winning bidder in an auction for 15,000 tonnes of old rice and negotiate with others due to a pricing disagreement, according to a source at the Ministry of Commerce.
The 10-year-old rice left over from the Yingluck Shinawatra government’s disastrous rice-pledging scheme was put up for auction on June 17. V8 Intertrading offered the highest bid of 19.07 baht per kilogramme, or a total of 286 million baht.
However, the PWO has yet to announce the official winner and is still negotiating with V8 Intertrading for a higher price, according to the source.
A committee overseeing the bid is prepared to negotiate with other bidders if V8 Intertrading insists on not offering more than 19.07 baht per kilogramme.
That could open the door for talks with Sahathan company, which offered 18.69 baht, or Thanasan Rice which proposed 18.01 baht per kilogramme.
Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the PWO could not announce the winner on Friday as planned because it wanted to ensure a transparent process.
He was referring to concerns regarding the finances of Kamphaeng Phet-based V8 Intertrading.
The company has registered capital of just 2 million baht and questions have arisen about its ability to pay 286 million baht for the rice.
“Officials will check the qualifications and look into the claims to get rid of any doubt,” Mr Phumtham said. “If the doubt is cleared up, they will negotiate for higher prices.”
He also said he had instructed the PWO to negotiate with other bidders to get higher prices, adding that once a winner is announced, a contract will be signed within 30 days.
The minister said the PWO would continue to proceed in line with the terms of reference for the auction, but a fresh auction would be considered if the agency and the current bidders could not settle the price issue.
Earlier, the government said it hoped to obtain about 270 million baht from the auction of the rice.
According to the terms, the winning bidder has 15 days to sign a contract with the PWO to complete the purchase. If it doesn’t, the second-highest bidder will be given the right to sign.