UPDATE 1-India will not import rice, stocks sufficient-min

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NEW DELHI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - India will not import rice as it has adequate stocks of the grain, the trade minister said on Friday, a move which may help ease global rice prices.

The worst monsoon in more than three decades had hit summer-sown rice output, but stocks at government warehouses were 84 percent higher at 14.5 million on Oct. 1, when the new marketing year began.

"We are not importing rice. We have adequate stocks as of now," Anand Sharma told reporters after a meeting of a panel of ministers.

Separately, two government officials said rice import tenders floated by three state-run trading firms would not be pursued as the bid prices were high.

"The rice import tenders will now die naturally...In some cases, the difference was as high as 70 percent compared with local rice," said an official at one of the state firms, who did not wish to be named.

State Trading Corp of India (STCI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), MMTC Ltd (MMTC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and PEC Ltd last month floated import tenders totalling 30,000 tonnes, for which they received 18 bids ranging from $373 to $599 per tonne.

MMTC Chairman Sanjiv Batra had said last week his firm might not import rice because of high bid prices. See [ID:nDEL263959]

Analysts say India, which last imported rice 20 years ago, was trying to gauge response to its import tenders.