In early July 2015, Thailand announced plans to auction an additional 1 million tonnes of rice in an open tender as a measure to cut down its accumulated rice stocks. The planned auction would be the fourth stock release this year and the eighth since the new Government took over the country in May 2014. Earlier in mid-February 2015, the Government announced plans to release an estimated 17 million tonnes of rice held in Government granaries by 2016 of which up to 10 million tonnes will be released over the course of 2015 and the remaining volumes to be released in 2016.