Rice farmers have harvested 25% of the first crop so far which amounts to roughly 90, 000 tonnes.
Stabroek News was told that over two million bags of paddy were harvested even as the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is working to finalise arrangements to export rice to Venezuela under the PetroCaribe Accord. The GRDB currently has 47 applications to supply rice and paddy under the US$120 million deal between Guyana and Venezuela.
The terms of the contract allow small and large scale millers to move paddy and rice based on a percentage of paddy purchased from farmers. Stabroek News was told that the GRDB is utilising a quota system to determine how much of the Venezuelan market millers would qualify for. For example, millers who purchase between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of paddy from farmers can qualify to export 8,000 tonnes.
The GRDB has also explained to the Millers Association headed by Dr Peter deGroot that millers would have to pay an average of $3000 for the best grade paddy and 95% of all debts to farmers are to be paid. Following the Factories Act and paying farmers on time are two areas that the GRDB is focusing on in order to weed out millers who fail to comply. Millers’ annual intake for the last four years was also looked at by the GRDB in order to determine their consistency.
The GRDB revealed that the millers association was sent a copy of the criteria but has not commented on them or raised concerns.
When contacted, deGroot acknowledged that the Association was presented with a copy of the criteria that would have to be adhered to in order to qualify for the Venezuelan rice programme. He said that the Association was not asked to further consult with the GRDB before the final criteria were issued and as such, it did not reply.
On March 17, millers met with the GRDB at the Agriculture Ministry where deGroot said that a committee was set up by the millers and they requested to be involved in the team that would devise the quotas for each miller to export under the Venezuela agreement.
He noted that millers could disclose a false amount of paddy purchased from farmers in the hopes of having the GRDB give them a larger Venezuela quota. DeGroot said that only the GRDB would have information on the individual milling quotas. DeGroot said that last year, the GRDB determined the quotas and since the millers severely disagreed, an initiative was taken this year to include the millers in the decision-making process.
The rice barter agreement with Venezuela will commence for 2015 with a drop in prices by US$20 per tonne for white rice. In 2014 Guyana shipped white rice to Venezuela under the PetroCaribe agreement for roughly US$780 per tonne. This year, the cost, insurance and freight figure will be US$760 per tonne. The price for paddy, however, remains at US$480 per tonne. Under the rice agreement 120,000 tonnes of paddy and 74,000 tonnes of white rice will be shipped to Venezuela.
Guyana’s rice sector is expected to expand again in 2015. Last year’s production exceeded 635,000 tonnes. Of that figure, more than 501,000 tonnes was exported.
Meanwhile, outstanding payments to farmers continue to temper the industry’s success. Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy stated that in 2014, farmers sold $44 billion in paddy to millers and yet not all farmers have been paid.
The government assisted by injecting $5 billion to compensate for late payments throughout the year. It is unclear where this $5 billion came from and what steps are in place to make certain that it is fully repaid.
