UPDATE 1-India's PEC extends rice import tender to Nov. 23

(Adds details, background)

NEW DELHI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - India's state-run trading firm PEC Ltd has extended the validity of bids submitted for a recent rice import tender until Nov. 23, trade and government sources said on Monday.

Officials of two other large state-run firms, State Trading Corp of India (STCI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and MMTC Ltd (MMTC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), said they would consider extending the deadline for bids on Tuesday.

The three firms floated rice import tenders for 10,000 tonnes each in October, for which they received a total of 18 bids ranging from $373 to $599 per tonne last Tuesday.

MMTC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Batra last week said his firm might not buy rice due to high prices quoted in the bids. See [See:nDEL486825] (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj and Ratnajyoti Dutta; Editing by Malini Menon)