BANGKOK: Thailand sold 755,012 tonnes of rice from state stockpiles in two auctions in August, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, as the country looks to eliminate stockpiles built up under the previous administration.

The world’s second-biggest rice exporter after India has stocks of about 9 million tonnes after buying rice from farmers at prices exceeding global rates under a scheme put in place by ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

In the first auction for “good grade” rice, eight private firms bought about 702,615 tonnes of rice for 6.91 billion baht ($199.88 million).

In the second auction, three buyers won about 52,397 tonnes of grade-C and substandard rice for industrial use worth 287 million baht ($8.30 million).

The government had originally intended to sell one million tonnes of rice in the August auctions. Last Wednesday, Thailand won deals to supply 100,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines at a tender.

Drought in rice producing countries, including Thailand, has cut supply to global markets and given the Thai government an opportunity to accelerate sales before the main annual crop is harvested during the fourth quarter.—Reuters