Dear Editor,
GNBS moves to regularise testing in the rice industry is welcome news for rice farmers because some rice millers are ripping off the farmers with moisture and dockage for a bag of padi. It’s a fact that the moisture content contributes significantly to the weight of padi.Most of the moisture meters used by the millers are outdated and operate inaccurately causing the farmers to lose substantially.
According to the Executive Director of GNBS Mr Chatterpaul Ramcharran the moisture meters used by millers in purchasing paddy must operate accurately, as important decisions are made on the results obtained, and this would eliminate the uncertainties and controversies that normally erupt between the farmers and the millers. The Rice Factories Act of 1998 assented to by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds performing the functions of the President on the 14th December, 1998 provides that the Board may revoke or suspend a licence where the holder thereof commits a breach of any of the terms and conditions of the licence or contravenes any of the provisions of the Act or any regulations made thereunder. Any person authorised in writing by or on behalf of the Board may at all reasonable times enter a rice factory and inspect it or any padi or rice therein or any books kept under the Act.
No person shall sell, purchase or receive padi for the manufacture of rice, except at a price calculated on a bag of 143 pounds net or such other weight as may be prescribed by the Minister by order. Moisture content in paddy or milled rice is determined by an approved device in accordance with the prescribed procedures and/or by the International Standards using a divider to reduce a sample of 500g to two samples of 100g each and use an approved moisture meter with its associated procedures to test each 100g sample for moisture content and record the results. This Caricom standard was formulated in an effort to improve the quality of rice and padi produced and sold on the local and overseas markets. It is expected that this standard would be utilised by millers and exporters and other related personnel, thereby promoting standardisation for the particular commodity in the industry.
The Seventeenth Annual General Meeting of the Caribbean Common Market Standards Council (CCMSC) was held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, Jamaica. At that meeting these was the formation of a new regional Standards body, the Caribbean Community Regional Organisation for standards and Quality (CROSQ) and standards relating to various commodities and services were deliberated. This new body is to monitor standards for regional trade.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
