Rice performed well in 2010 and the highest ever exports of 320,000 tonnes will be recorded by year end, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud reiterated.
At an end-of-year press briefing at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Boardroom yesterday, he said that despite challenges, 320,000 tonnes of rice were exported out of 360,000 tonnes produced. “The demand for rice is growing and in fact, I’ve asked that we slow down the export just to ensure that we have adequate quantities for the local market because we have a lot of buyers and the rice, as I said, is in demand”, the Minister said. He noted that there is a shortfall in the world market and better prices are being seen.
The 320,000 tonnes of exports at a value of about US$150M includes paddy and broken rice and Persaud noted that these numbers can change since the year is not over yet. A significant amount of the exports are to Venezuela and funded by the Petrocaribe oil supply arrangement with Caracas.
The Minister noted that 66 mills have been licensed in Guyana and another eight more have been inspected. The unlicensed eight have issues with complying due to millers being out of the country, thus not being available for inspection or haven’t paid mill licence fees despite several attempts to receive such.
Persaud singled out Mahaicony Rice Mills and said that based on their track record, they would not be qualified.
He said that the Guyana Rice Development Board has not been able to gain access to the company’s books and said that all of their mills would not be recertified. He said that there is enough capacity to take up the rice that normally passes through the company’s mills.
