Concern is also rising over the quality of the rice piling up in the warehouses. Rice always deteriorates, but the suspicion is growing that stocks are being contaminated with substandard rice. Criminal gangs and bent officials are said to have smuggled in thousands of tonnes of cheap grain from Cambodia and Myanmar in the hope of profiting from government largesse. This rice has got mixed in with Thai grain. A good deal of Thailand’s rice is top-grade Hom Mali, or jasmine rice. So quality, and reputation, matter.