-payments for farmers finalized
Mahaicony Rice Limited (MRL) owner Jai Beni yesterday assured that the company’s financial position is “solid” but admitted that it experienced difficulties due to the recent international financial crisis.
This is the first time Beni has spoken since concerns were raised about MRL’s failure to pay 200 to 300 farmers for millions worth in paddy supplied to the company since the first crop this year. More than half a year has passed and still farmers have not been paid.
In a statement, following a meeting with Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) Jagnarine Singh and General Secretary of the Rice Producers’ Association (RPA) Dharamkumar Seeraj, Beni said that MRL is working closely with government to ensure that farmers are paid as early as possible.
“It is maybe my fault that I didn’t do it earlier,” Beni said referring to the fact that MRL should’ve met with officials in the rice industry early to explain the recent difficulties the company has been experiencing due the to global financial crisis.
MRL has approximately US$1.5M ($300M) outstanding to farmers. It is still not clear over what timeframe these payments will be made. However, Persaud assured that arrangements for payments have been finalized with MRL.
MRL, Beni stressed, is a company that is very solid and has very few borrowings locally. The recent international crisis, he explained, had a significant impact on MRL and this is the first time in its history that the company has experienced such a severe blow. As a result of these financial difficulties, Beni admitted, MRL was forced to delay payments to farmers.
When questioned about the measure MRL has or intends to put in place to guard against another such lapse in the future Beni only said that the company would have to increase local funding.
This is not the first time MRL has failed to pay farmers. Over the last few years the company has become notorious for inefficient payments. Beni, when questioned about MRL’s recently attained notoriety in this regard, said that while the company has owed farmers in the pass they have never reached this extent.
“This is the first time we had this kind of dealings…hopefully it will not happen again,” he said.
Late last month MRL had been winding down its activities locally with a reduction in staff and halting of operations at its Black Bush Polder (BBP), Blairmont and Vilvoorden offices. However, days later the company invited farmers to supply paddy for the second crop. MRL is the largest miller and over the years has bought a significant percentage of paddy produced every crop.
Beni yesterday confirmed that MRL had started purchasing paddy for the second crop but said that it would be used to supply under the second Venezuelan deal which the government recently inked.
Previously, Beni explained when asked about the sudden decision to supply under this deal, he was not aware of the benefits the Venezuela deal had to offer. “It will help us. I wish we could have been in it before,” Beni said.
Guyana is expected to supply 50,000 tonnes of rice and 20, 000 tonnes of paddy under the current deal with Venezuela which is worth US$38M. Shipping under this deal, though it should have already started, is yet to commence.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Minister said that it has been made clear to Beni that the government’s primary concern is seeing that farmers are paid for their paddy.
During the meeting with Beni, he explained, issues relating MRL and its future operations were also discussed.
