The cost of managing government rice stocks is also very high at BT=t 3,300 a tonne, while private exporters would spend only Bt1,000 to manage a tonne of rice before shipment. Although the price is Thai rice has been cut, Thailand still has trouble selling it overseas and competing with rivals. This is because overseas traders know enormous amounts are being stores and continuing to deteriorate in quality as the pledging project has gone on, Vichai said. Virabongsa Ramangura, an advisor to Yingluck, said earlier that Thailand should focus on adding value to the rice output. To him, it no longer matters if Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter, as it deals only with volume, not value.