Thailand is moving closer to its target of selling 1 million tons of rice on a government-to- government basis as Indonesia and Iran want to buy 600,000 tons of Thai rice, Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Oranuch Osathanond said on Friday.

Oranuch made the statement after meeting representatives of Indonesia's Bureau of Logistics (BULOG), a government-owned company dealing with food quality and price control.

BULOG said they want to purchase 200,000 to 300,000 tons of Thai rice. Price and other details will be discussed later, Oranuch was quoted by Thai News Agency as saying.

She added that Indonesia is likely to buy more rice from Thailand because their actual demand for rice in 2007 is expected to exceed 1 million tons.

To meet the great demand, Jakarta must buy rice from other exporting countries.

Oranuch also revealed that the Iranian government is interested in buying 380,000 tons of rice from Thailand on a government-to- government basis. Price negotiation and detailed discussions are currently underway.

The orders from the two countries totals 600,000 tons, close to the government's target of selling 1 million tons on a government- to-government basis.

Source: Xinhua