Alesie Guyana Ltd has denied a claim by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) that the company owes rice farmers. Alesie wrote GRDB Managing Director Jagnarine Singh yesterday, seeking a correction for the board’s statement, published in yesterday’s Stabroek News, which indicated that it owed small amounts. Alesie described it as “incorrect” and stated that its current accounts with farmers are in “absolute good standing.”

The GRDB made the claim in a statement that said Mahaicony Rice Mills Limited (MRL) is still to pay off farmers for paddy supplied from the first crop of 2008, with  the total debt to them being in excess of $600 million. It said too that MRL, which manages the largest rice milling operation in Guyana, is the biggest defaulter and currently it is a crucial time for the rice crop as fertilizers would be applied to the crop now.